Lean and Green: Profit for Your Workplace and the Environment [Paperback]

Pamela J Gordon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2001

This book dispels the myth that a business or organization has to choose between making a profit and protecting the environment. Appealing to employees at every level, it provides over 100 examples of environmental practices that bring savings or new sources of revenue. It also coaches readers to make their environmental cases to management using business language -- leading their argument with profitability.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

"Lean and Green is a profitable guide for any business willing to lay aside the old way of working and adopt solid environmental principles into their management thinking." —Harry W. Reid, Agilent Technologies "Lean and Green clearly dispels the myth that environmental responsibility negatively impacts the bottom line. In fact, it reveals the opposite reality—be green, lean, and a fiscal hero inside your operation!"—Greg Reed, Editorial Director, Electronic Packaging and Production magazine

About the Author

Pamela J. Gordon, Certified Management Consultant, is a leader and speaker in the worlds of business, professional associations, political parties, education, and the performance arts She is President and Founder of Technology Forecasters, Inc., a management consulting firm that for three years in a row has been named by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the 100 fastest growing private companies in the San Francisco Bay Area In addition to having business and leadership savvy, Gordon is also an environmentalist at heart. She is a long-time contributor to environmental organizations; The Nature Conservancy has listed her firm several times as a corporate donor.

Product Details

• Paperback: 250 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers; First Edition edition (September 9, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576751708
• ISBN-13: 978-1576751701
• Product Dimensions: 6.1 x 0.8 x 9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,460,114 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Useful at the level to which it is pitched February 24, 2003

By Bill Godfrey

Format:Paperback

The core theme is that, if you reduce waste and increase recycling, it will be good for the environment and for profits. The theme is supported with a wealth of examples. This is a book for those who are 'putting a toe in the water' rather than for those who wish to move beyond the first steps, but is useful at the level to which it is pitched. It helps to contest the pernicious myth that business profitability and environmental responsibility are at odds with each other.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Save the environment...and money December 29, 2001

By Roger E. Herman

Format:Paperback

From time to time, business leaders have invested time, energy, attention, and financial resources in the respected work of environmental protection. The work from the corporate sector has not been consistent, appreciated, or encouraged. Through this book, the author hopes to stimulate more organizations to be actively supportive of the environment-and good business practices. A Certified Management Consultant with significant personal engagement with corporate environmental issues, Pamela Gordon profiles the work of twenty employers to show what can be done.

Many authors gather profiling information for books like this by researching on the internet, magazine articles, other books, and industry reports. To her credit, Gordon personally visited 16 of the companies cited, with the other four being visited by people from her firm. This direct involvement adds a higher degree of authenticity to her work and this book.

Lean and Green is organized into three sections. Part One presents four steps for creating a lean and green organization: Question Wasteful Practices, Gain Lean and Green Endorsement Using Business Language, Collaborate to Achieve Lean and Green Goals, and Track Progress for Environment and Profit. Interwoven through these introductory chapters are stories about how the 20 profiled employers have applied these approaches. The organizations are mostly large, well-known companies, and a city government, but the principles can be applied in smaller organizations, as well.

The second section of the book presents Real-Life Examples of Putting Lean and Green into Practice. Ten chapters lay out the how-to of building a higher consciousness and effectiveness of environmental practices.... Again, Gordon uses examples and experiences of her profiled companies and their people to illustrate and emphasize her points.

The third part of the book, How to Make the Most Difference, is best reported to you by listing the powerful chapter headings: How to Become an Environmental Leader in Your Organization, Work with Your Organizational Culture to Support Change, Be an Environmental Activist Using Tactics That Benefit Business, and The Fastest Route to Lean and Green. Quotes are used to open each chapter, as many authors do. To focus even more strongly on the dedication and focus of her profiled corporate activists, Gordon quotes people from the companies rather than outside sources. Each chapter ends with a valuable summary of the chapter, entitled "Making it Easy."

This book will smooth the way for its intended audiences: employees, managers, top leaders, and observers of organization that have great potential to make a difference. As I read the book, I found myself already becoming more aware of opportunities in my own surroundings to make a difference. If you're interested in protecting the environment and your company's bottom line, this book will open your eyes and give you tools for success. Read more ›

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Should Be Mandatory Reading For All Manufacturing Executives September 17, 2001

By Scott Robert

Format:Paperback

This well-researched and thoughtful work is a very readable and practical guide proving that integrating environmentally-friendly processes and procedures in manufacturing operations is not only necessary for code compliance and corporate public relations, but can also improve companies' financial performance. Ms. Gordon provides real world examples showing how some of the world's largest and best-known companies have taken profitable steps toward improving our environment while at the same time improving their bottom line.

5.0 out of 5 stars lean and green - an outstanding work November 4, 2011

By shuki

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have just finished reading the interesting book "Lean and Green." I must admit that I have learned a lot and for someone like me who is keen about the environment (did I mentioned I have installed a solar system on my roof...) it was totally worth reading.

5.0 out of 5 stars Greener Practices that Actually CUT Costs January 1, 2009

By Shel Horowitz

Format:Paperback

Next time your boss tells you "we can't afford to be environmentally sensitive," you'll be fully prepared to rebut that claim if you've read "Lean and Green: Profit for Your Workplace and the Environment."

This well-written strategy manual for people in major corporations shows how companies like IBM, Louisiana Pacific, Polaroid, and even the city of Santa Monica, California have become much more profitable through environmental responsibility. While most of the savings are smaller, some instances have saved as much as $100,000,000--by rethinking as well as redesigning. The payback periods ranged from a few months to several years, but all of them were ROI-driven decisions that were good for both the environment and the P&L statement.

Shel Horowitz's award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, demonstrates how to build a business around ethics, environmental sustainability, and cooperative practices--and how to develop marketing that highlights those advantages.

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical hands on book June 12, 2006

By Technocrat

Format:Paperback

This book is unlike many how to business books out there. It actually gives you the steps to implement it. Whether or not the earth is warming, it makes sense for everyone to do their part to show their respect to our home. Buy the book. Save the earth.

5.0 out of 5 stars Simple "How-To" Approach to a Leaner, Greener Organization April 17, 2006

By Diane

Format:Paperback

"Lean and Green" takes an enjoyable, practical, action-oriented approach to environmental change. It presents a step-by-step strategy that assures everyone that they can take positive steps within their organization by inspiring leadership that doing the right thing for the planet is also doing the right thing for the company's bottom-line. Pam removes many of the personal barriers we all face as we attempt to align our internal values with our external actions.

Most importantly - IT IS AN ENJOYABLE READ!!

5.0 out of 5 stars Over a hundred examples from major companies from Intel to Polaroid discuss various commitments January 6, 2006

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Paperback

Quite often the idea of profit and environmental health work against each other; but if 20 leading organizations as outlined in Pamela J. Gordon's Lean And Green: Profit For Your Workplace And The Environment can succeed at both, any business can. Lean And Green shows how these companies succeeded by adopting solid environmental principles which worked economically as well. Over a hundred examples from major companies from Intel to Polaroid discuss various commitments, from recycling and environmental management systems to involving top management on down.