Customer Reviews

Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and Challenges in the New World of Business

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With more than a dozen previous books, including "The Green Consumer", already on corporate and small-business bookshelves, Joel Makower has become a master green business analyst. This book draws on his knowledge and analytical skills, with market research assist from Cara Pike, and his talent for clear writing to provide business executives a set of insights they need in planning green strategies.
Makower came onto the scene at about the same time that business was being shocked into dealing with stratospheric ozone damage from CFC emissions, and he has come to know the movers and shakers from all the communities engaged in greening over the years. This book looks forward, to show why corporate greening will endure (even if media's attention wanes), citing climate change as a major spur. He notes a parallel shift: the environmental movement morphing into the climate movement and business coping with carbon constraint linked to climate change.
Problems for greening companies include a lack of standards by which to judge "how good is good enough", leaving the bar free to drift higher; an escalating investor intensity for companies to acknowledge, reduce and report on environmental risks (which I would connect with corporate governance influenced by climate change activism); and the erosion of "sustainability" as a green leadership characteristic.
As he has done in his Greenbiz.com commentaries, Makower makes business choices easy to grasp. On energy use and climate change, he makes it simple: reduce the amount of energy used, buy more renewable-source energy, and remedy climate impact of even the renewables by moves such as carbon offsets.
Business opportunity -- starting with GE's "green is green" -- and communications are focused through the perspectives of context, relevance and good, plain talk. Easy to read, well organized, with nearly 40 short chapters, this is Makower's best book yet for corporate C-suite green strategists.

Too often, I get the feeling that authors of books like these come up with a few ideas, write them on the back of an envelope, then figure out how to stretch their "3 principles to..." or "change the world by..." concept into a 240 page book. Joel Makower's book is the grand exception. It is brimming with substance, possibly weighing in at under 300 pages -of 100% post consumer recycled paper- merely to conserve.

I work as the sustainability coordinator for a clothing retail store (shopbop.com), and his book is fantastic. It's taken a very long time to read, because every page seems to be followed by 5-20 minutes of pondering and scribbling ideas down.

Makower got his start in the green boom of 89-90, and much of the book references this period for perspective on where we are today, and what we can expect in the future. In a world where 18 months experience makes you a Green Jobs Veteran, Joel Makower is the old sage on the mountain top.

If you want to understand the challenges facing companies trying to sort out what it means to be "green" as they attempt to make sense of the competitive threats and opportunities at the intersection of business and the environment, Joel Makower's "Strategies for the Green Economy" is the right place to start. In this highly readable and engaging book, Joel chooses to not push an agenda but instead to expose just how difficult it is for businesses to devise a green strategy and execute against it. Rather than stepping away from the challenges, the book provides a foundation from which every business can consider their strategy and what it would mean for them to be green. With a wide array of examples from diverse industries, there's something for everyone to take away. If you're looking for an effective way to start the green dialogue at your company, this is a great place to start.

Makower continues his leadership in the green business community with a terrific contribution in "Strategies". What I like best about Makower is his ability to make sustainability real and relevant. Real world examples from large companies help to elucidate some of the sustainability strategies, and why many companies are pursuing them, that help companies save money while doing well by the ecosystem at large.

One of the most insightful and helpful contributions Makower makes in this book is his exploration of the green consumer. My feeling is that this has been one of the missing links for many companies in terms of going green. The green consumer segment, as Makower describes it, is incredibly diverse, with varying levels of commitment. Makower makes it easy for CEO's and middle managers alike to understand this growing, powerful, and sought-after target market. The group is well-connected, intelligent, skeptical, and highly loyal to their brands once their trust has been earned. Makower gives golden advice in terms of soliciting to this market but also stern warning against the types of activities that can alienate this group.

Makower is brilliant and shows it throughout the book.

Offering most valuable insights how to ride the green wave and still make a profit, this book is one of the better guides on how to become green while still being competitive. During the last few years it emerged that going green (apparently) is the right thing to do. There are a few brilliant books that describe WHY it is the right thing to do. Some books even write about HOW to go green (which I think is a lot harder then answering the why question). Strategies for the Green Economy does both and provides the reader with advice how to enter the green market right and simultaneously keep in mind customer demands to reduce environmental impacts.

During the last few years green business practices were hyped. As this entire business area is still relatively new, some authors jumped to conclusions without undertaking profound research first. Reading this book you will notice that Makower's doesn't make this mistake. Quite the opposite is the case. The experience he has in his field really makes the difference. The way Makower critically analyzes the complexities of greening a business makes this book worth reading for everyone who doesn't trust all the other books out there, promising everything under the sun. Apart from the fact that this book comes with a number of case studies and examples, it is authentic. Someone, who is really keen to turn his own organization green and doesn't believe in green-washing, should have this book on his shelf.

- Frank Roettgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies