The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-in (Conscientious Commerce) [Paperback]

Bob Willard (Author), Hunter Lovins (Foreword)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

The idea of sustainability has been embraced enthusiastically by some businesses and rejected by others. The first wave of corporate converts to sustainability was perhaps driven by a public relations crisis, regulatory pressures or the founder’s personal passion. The next wave, however, requires different drivers if it is to build a critical mass for corporate responsibility in the business community.

The Next Sustainability Wave assesses why companies have resisted sustainability strategies and focuses on two emerging drivers that promise to spur corporate commitment to sustainability strategies:

A compelling business case
A “perfect storm” of threatening market forces on the horizon that range from climate change to the rising demands of stakeholders

An effective carrot-and-stick duo, these two drivers are both triggering the need for change and providing a vision of business success if the transition to sustainable operations, products and services is smartly managed.

Emphasizing the importance of how sustainability is presented to corporate leaders—using the right language and avoiding threats to the status quo that provoke habitual corporate defense mechanisms—the book applies effective selling techniques to reposition sustainability strategies as a means to achieving existing corporate ends, rather than as a separate priority to worry about. It sells sustainability as a solution, a business strategy and a catalyst for business transformation. An appendix gives a version of the sustainability business case for small- to medium-level enterprises.

Designed for quick reading and reference—right pages furthering the argument, while left pages provide support materials—the book is especially useful for those wanting to convince busy executives and board members.

Bob Willard is a leading expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies and in the last two years has given over 100 keynote presentations to corporations, consultants, academics and nongovernmental organizations.

About the Author

Bob Willard is a leading expert on the business value of corporate sustainability strategies and has given hundreds of keynote presentations to corporations, consultants, academics, and non-governmental organizations. His first book, The Sustainability Advantage, was published with New Society in 2002, and his second book, The Next Sustainability Wave, was published in 2005.

Product Details

• Paperback: 368 pages
• Publisher: New Society Publishers (April 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0865715327
• ISBN-13: 978-0865715325
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Bestsellers Rank: #279,432 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great resource for corporate insiders, August 29, 2005

By	Rick Row (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-in (Conscientious Commerce) (Paperback)

I've been looking for quite awhile for a book that provides support for introducing sustainability thinking into business planning in a way that might appeal to CEOs. I didn't find one until I found this new book by Bob Willard. (Note: Hunter Lovins provides a foreword).
Bob Willard claims this book fills a unique niche, and as far as I know he's right. And it's an important niche for readers who are trying to build a business case for sustainability.
The book is an easy read, which shouldn't be confused with a simplistic treatment of complex information. Willard organizes a lot of material drawn from a wide range of sources into a coherent and well-argued whole. He also includes a lot of well selected quotations around the topic.
His bibliography at the end of the book is also very good.

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Resource, March 28, 2007

By	George F. Reinhart "The Conference Board" (Duxbury, MA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-in (Conscientious Commerce) (Paperback)

My job brings me in contact with many F1000 executives who have responsibility for CSR/citizenship/responsibility/sustainability/etc and I read this book to broaden my view of the topic. I found it to be interesting in its format, content and point of view. I highly recommend it if sustainability is taking on a strategic importance to your business and you need to hold your own when discussing the finer points of it all with senior management and boards. Or, you are a senior manager and need to reach decisions about the role of sustainability in your planning. Read this book. You won't regret the investment of time or money.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Easy read, straightforward, February 21, 2006

By	jennifer_76 (Jeffersonville, IN, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-in (Conscientious Commerce) (Paperback)

This is the first book I read on the topic of sustainability and I found it to be very approachable. The concepts were easy to grasp and it was written/formatted to be part example, part theory. I'd recommend it wholeheartedly.