Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts (Business) (Hardcover)

by Marc J Epstein (Author), John Elkington (Foreword), Herman B Leonard (Foreword)
Key Phrases: strategy for corporate sustainability, implementing corporate sustainability, sustainability reporting and verification, Corporate Sustainability Model, The Home Depot, United States (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description
In recent years, corporations of all sizes and orientations have become more sensitive to social issues and stakeholder concerns, and they are collectively striving to become better corporate citizens (in some cases, urged on by shareholder pressure or government regulations). The best practices in corporate sustainability are no longer the exclusive domain of companies like Ben & Jerry's or Body Shop as they were a decade ago; now, large, multi-national companies like G.E. and Wal-Mart are leading the way with significant financial and organizational commitments to social and environmental issues. To help managers and academics keep their eye on the ever-moving target of sustainability, award-winning author and academic Marc Epstein's provides an authoritative and comprehensive guide to implementing corporate sustainability initiatives and to measuring both their social and financial impacts.

From the Publisher

* A comprehensive guide to implementing and evaluating corporate sustainability initiatives
* Combines a thorough grounding in the latest research with the best practices of 100 organizations worldwide, including prominent companies such as Canon, Coca-Cola, Dell, FedEx, General Mills, Johnson & Johnson, Nestle, Starbucks, Warner Brothers

The best practices in corporate social responsibility (CSR) are no longer the exclusive domain of companies like Ben & Jerry's or the Body Shop; now even companies like GE and Wal-Mart are making significant financial and organizational commitments to social and environmental issues. But senior executives are realizing that implementing sustainability is particularly challenging. While a lot has been written on ethical and strategic factors, there is a dearth of information on the practical nuts and bolts of implementation and virtually nothing on how to measure the results.

In Making Sustainability Work, Marc Epstein builds on his influential and highly respected previous work to produce the ultimate how-to guide for corporate leaders, strategists, academics, sustainability consultants, and anyone else with an interest in actually putting sustainability ideas into practice.

Drawing on the latest research and the best practices of 100 companies worldwide, Epstein provides an extraordinarily complete model for implementing sustainability initiatives. He covers the role of senior managers and corporate boards in leading and governing sustainability activities; organizational design issues that can improve sustainability; integration of social risk factors into capital investment, costing, and risk management systems; incentives and rewards to improve sustainability performance; identification and measurement corporate social, environmental, and economic impacts; and much more.

Many books have been published that describe the need for improved corporate citizenship, but Making Sustainability Work is the first truly thorough guide to going from intention to reality.

"Moves CSR from the theoretical to the practical, offering real-life tools, processes, and metrics for creating a true corporate framework for sustainability."
--Brad Shaw, Senior Vice President, The Home Depot

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 288 pages
• Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers (January 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576754863
• ISBN-13: 978-1576754863
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.3 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #10,492 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Guide to the Implementation of Sustainability Principles, January 31, 2008

By	Felipe Perez "Landser08" (Miami, Florida United States) - See all my reviews

Making Sustainability work does a significant contribution for practitioners on how to put sustainability principles and ideas into practice. We have seen in the past other important contributions about sustainability. The difference regarding this new book is in putting these ideas in a very explicit way; emphasizing on the challenges of integrating sustainability into the business strategy and in the decision-making that encompasses the implementation of successful strategies at the firm level.

The book goes further giving valuable guidelines in practical methodologies on how to measure social and environmental risks and impacts and in the implementation of systems inside the firms for permanently monitoring such impacts. This has been a weakness in some of the literature we have seen in the past. Making Sustainability Work addresses the necessary evaluation of the impacts of sustainability initiatives on the financial performance to correctly assess the convenience of implementing them in terms of the benefits to both, the firm and the stakeholders. Finally, we have in a very amenable reading style, an important guide for practitioners on how to put sustainability principles into practice.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars oil companies and "sustainable" ?, January 27, 2008

By	W Boudville (Terra, Sol 3) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Epstein's book is definitely well meaning. Directed mostly towards the field of corporate social responsibility. Attentive readers may also recall a recent Economist magazine that had its central pages devoted to this theme.

The book has numerous quotes from CEOs of large, prominent organisations, espousing how they pursue sustainable goals. Some of these include Shell and BP. Sure, the commitment is laudable. But these oil companies have been facing a shrinking in their proven oil reserves for years. If you regard sustainability in the context of this industry as maintaining or increasing reserves, then the situation is growing parlous, no matter what nice words the bosses say. Granted, the oil companies are spending billions of dollars each year in exploration and extraction. However, a cynic can question the inclusion of these companies in the book's survey.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Important to read for both the Manager and the Management Academic, February 10, 2008

By	W. Smith (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Whereas others have argued for why corporations must attend to social issues, Epstein helps us understand how. Epstein provides in-depth, thoughtful analysis that integrates the relevant research in the field about how to more effectively manage corporate social responsibility. He grounds this analysis in extensive examples of companies actively grappling with these issues. In doing so, he provides a manual for both academics and practitioners to understand what we know today about how to manage corporate social responsibility , and provides a set of questions for the issues that we must grapple with tomorrow. This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the success of companies and who cares about the future of our communities and our planet.