Book Description
The essential guide for forward-thinking business leaders who see the Green Wave coming and want to profit from it
This book explores what every executive must know to manage the environmental challenges facing society and business. Based on the authors' years of experience and hundreds of interviews with corporate leaders around the world, Green to Gold shows how companies generate lasting value, cutting costs, reducing risk, increasing revenues, and creating strong brands, by building environmental thinking into their business strategies. Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston provide clear how-to advice and concrete examples from companies like BP, Toyota, IKEA, GE, and Nike that are achieving both environmental and business success. The authors show how these cutting-edge companies are establishing an “eco-advantage” in the marketplace as traditional elements of competitive differentiation fade in importance. Esty and Winston not only highlight successful strategies but also make plain what does not work by describing why environmental initiatives sometimes fail despite the best intentions.
Green to Gold is written for executives at every level and for businesses of all kinds and sizes. Esty and Winston guide leaders through a complex new world of resource shortfalls, regulatory restrictions, and growing pressure from customers and other stakeholders to strive for sustainability. With a sharp focus on execution, Esty and Winston offer a thoughtful, pragmatic, and inspiring road map that companies can use to cope with environmental pressures and responsibilities while sparking innovation that will drive long-term growth. Green to Gold is the new template for global CEOs who want to be good stewards of the Earth while simultaneously building the bottom line.
Customer Reviews:
Superior Primer for the Green Movement.......2007-09-17
This book was a primary resource for the development of my client's green program. It was focused enough to provide a thorough understanding of the hot environmental issues, without being too tree-huggerish. It highlights the responsibilities of global stewardship along with those of being financially accountable in the business arena.
Excellent Book.......2007-09-10
Green to Gold is a very thorough, well written book. Anyone involved in marketing should definitely take the time to read this book. I learned a great deal from this book it was well worth my investment of money and time.
Straightforward sustainability manual.......2007-06-15
Sesame Street's Kermit the Frog famously observed, "It's not easy being green." Whether easy or not, environmental and social pressures are pushing more and more companies to ride the "green wave" to ecological sustainability. In this beautifully organized, crisply written book, Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston, both Yale professors, describe how sustainability can create competitive advantage. They succinctly make the business case for sustainability, and then provide a playbook of green strategies and tactics. The presentation is neither too abstract nor too detailed: It's just right. Nor is their presentation one-sided: They enumerate many ways sustainable products and strategies can go wrong. While some of their suggestions may seem obvious, the authors deserve praise for collecting so many excellent tips and tricks, and for describing them in memorable (mostly) jargon-free prose. We highly recommend this smart book to any business leader who wants to move beyond rhetoric to action. While Kermit's wisdom is doubtless correct, this handbook makes being green much easier.
Green to Gold.......2007-05-14
I bought the book because of the title. I was not disappointed. The book is more focused on business prospects than on real environmental issues but it was what I was looking for.
Best Available Primer for Top Management.......2007-03-15
I have read and praised "Natural Capitalism," "Ecology of Commerce," and "Cradle to Cradle," here at Amazon, and I mention them to emphasize that this book, "Green to Gold," is the hands-down no-contest best primer for top management. The others are intellectual presentations. This is a business oriented primer with lots of facts, lists, and resources.
It is a pro-business book that focuses on opportunities. It is extremely well-organized, with three parts, twelve chapters, and three appendices including a superb list of active web sites relevant to doing well by doing good.
This book is based on hundreds of interviews over four years, and every aspect of it is professional presented, including boxes with "10 second overviews" interspersed throughout.
The authors are compellingly pointed in their discussion of how the environment, and attendant regulations and attendant risks of catastrophic costs, is no longer a fringe issue. Mistakes in cadmium content of connecting cables can cost hundreds of millions.
The authors excel at discussing the new pressures from natural limits that are now visible (changes that used to take 10,000 years now take 3--see my reviews on Ecological Economics, the Republican War on Science, the varied books on Climate Change, etc) and the fact that there is a growing range of stake-holders who are altering the balance of power.
The authors are clear in noting that environmental compliance and wisdom is neither easy nor cheap, but they are equally detailed in documenting that most investments to reduce environmental costs are recouped within 12-18 months. In one cited example, 3M saves $1 billion in the first year alone on pollution reduction, and over the course of a decade, was able to reduce its pollution by 90%.
On page 33 they list the top 10 environmental issues and I like this list very much as an expansion on "Environmental Degradation" which is the over-all threat that the High Level Threat Panel of the United Nations ranked as third out of ten, to Poverty and Infectious Disease. They are:
01 Climate Change
02 Energy
03 Water
04 Biodiversity and Land Use
05 Chemicals, Toxics, and Heavy Metals
06 Air Pollution
07 Waste Management
08 Ozone Layer Depletion
09 Oceans and Fisheries
10 Deforestation
The authors do a superb job in summarizing each of these in several pages perfectly suited to the busy manager. For those desiring more in-depth looks, see my many reviews across the board, including "Priority One," various books on energy, "WATER: The Fate of Our Most Precious Resource," "Pandora's Poison," and "Blue Frontier."
The bottom line for the first part of the book: extremes can no longer be dampened down; and we now recognize the eco-system value of the wetlands that we have paid the Army Corps of Engineers to eradicate for decades.
The authors devised a schema for businesses to develop an understanding and then a strategy for reducing their environmental footprint. The authors do extremely well with their organized examination of Aspects, Upstream, Downstream, Issues, and Opportunities (AUDIO), and anyone looking at the book in a store can go directly to pages 62-63. This is an operational management handbook.
There is an excellent overview of the many new stake-holders (or significantly matured stake-holders including NGOs, religions, and local citizens. Business can no longer bribe government--government cannot "deliver" the way it used to (see my review of "Class War" for a sense of how corruption of other elites by our elites has accelerated all the ills of the world).
Regulations, according to these authors, should be seen as vital incentives and parameters for both reducing costs and gaining trust.
Forty global banks, and many insurance companies, now demand proper examination of ecological costs as a condition for funding or coverage.
The authors remind me of General Tony Zinni, whose books I have reviewed, in their emphasis on relationships developed over time. They urge a strong focus on relationships NOW, across the board, as a means of building a "trust bank" as well as a deeper understanding. Blocks that used to be labels "not our problem" or "not legally liable" are now labeled "IMPORTANT TO US."
In the middle of the book they explore the digital information advantages that can accrue to those who get out of their closed loops and increase innovation. In one instance, simply adding load to trucks reduced fuel consumption and emissions considerably.
The middle of the book contains 8 detailed "Green to Gold" plays, and I won't spoil it by listing them. A box in this section says "Truth Matters" and I applaud silently.
The authors stress that mind-set, not just a check-book, is required to get this right. Five basic rules are 1) See the forest; 2) Start at the top; 3) No is not an option; 4) Feelings are facts; and 5) Do the right thing, morality DOES pay.
Pages 168-169 are sheer brilliance, and illustrate why the value chain must be completely integrated into the environmental strategy of each element of that value chain and most especially the largest and most powerful of the elements, which must carefully consider and accept responsibility for demanding improvements by the smallest elements.
Eight lessons of partnering, 13 problems and their solutions, and a final chapter of very specific actions that managers can take, conclude the book.
My final note on this book: a pleasure to read, easy to read, so well done I got through it in half the time characteristic of denser or less well designed books. This is first rate stuff!
Book Description
"This is a very hands-on book, rich with both information and examples . . . what makes the volume especially readable is the insertion of brief case studies into most chapters . . . a productive read for both students of community development and the general public."
--Deborah Puntenney, AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION JOURNAL
Can residents work together to improve the quality of life in their communities? There is continued skepticism about community-based efforts to overcome the problems of concentrated poverty and racial segregation in the inner city, underdevelopment in rural areas, and social isolation. Yet, there are numerous examples of residents helping their local communities provide affordable housing, job training, and financing for businesses.
In
Asset Building and Community Development Gary Paul Green and Anna Haines provide an engaging, thought-provoking, interdisciplinary overview of the community development field. They explore the history of the community development movement in the United States and in international settings. Using an asset-based approach that considers human, physical, social, financial, and environmental capital, the authors skillfully demonstrate how local organizations are better able to meet community needs than governmental programs or market strategies.
Lively and informative, this well-crafted introduction to community development will appeal to students and to practitioners who want an understanding of the basic concepts and theories behind their activities.
Book Description
Sarbanes-Oxley and the Board of Directors is a practical, down-to-earth guide for board members. It covers everything from board basics to compliance with regulations, corporate culture and values to assessing and reacting to hostile shareholder activities. Complete with real-world examples, vignettes, case studies, and other information, this guide helps board members, CEOs, CFOs, and others understand their responsibilities and potential liabilities and implement effective corporate governance. It covers building a strong framework for effective governance, ways to protect board members, specific guidance for effective corporate oversight and communications, and more. Sarbanes-Oxley and the Board of Directors gives directors the knowledge, techniques, and tools to serve the company and its stockholders well.
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Praise for Sarbanes-Oxley and the Board of Directors ""Scott Green provides a comprehensive approach to board oversight that is on point, tackles the most controversial board issues of our day, and provides sound advice. Wise directors will read this book."" -Jim Balsillie, Chairman, Research In Motion ""Scott helped our board to develop clarity of purpose, redefine its goals, and implement a structure that supports our objectives. The transformation resulted in a dynamic, productive, and engaged board. While relevant to public boards, I highly recommend this book for directors serving not-for-profit organizations as well."" -Harold C. Gibson, Jr., Executive Director University of Idaho Alumni Association ""To be effective, boards of directors need timely, accurate, and relevant information derived from reliable processes. Scott's focus on process has helped us deliver information to our board in a more efficient manner."" -Aimee Boden, Executive Director Randall's Island Sports Foundation, New York, New York ""Scott Green has enlightened all of us who serve or would like to serve on a board of directors. The prestige of serving on a board is clearly apparent, while the risks are often downplayed and rarely visible. He has succeeded in providing much-needed illumination in a very hands-on document that we will all benefit from reading."" -Herman A. Berliner, PhD, Provost and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs, Hofstra University ""A more thoughtful search process, such as the methodology recommended in Scott's book, will result in a more cohesive and effective board that truly is a competitive asset for the company."" -Julie Hembrock Daum, Practice Leader North American Board Services, Spencer Stuart
Customer Reviews:
Wakeup call for Board members.......2005-08-15
Especially in the post Enron/WorldCom business world, serving on the board of a corporation is serious business. Mr. Green's book serves as a practical, down to earth guide to understanding all that is involved in such a tremendous responsibility. Just like his first book, Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, this one includes many real-world examples, case studies, and entertaining vignettes to illustrate his points. A must have for sitting or prospective board members.
Book Description
Need help ensuring your campany complys with Sarbanes-Oxley? Armed with this hands-on guide, you can detect early signs of fraud and operational loss, and safeguard your job, your employees' jobs, and the long-term success of your company. Don't let fraud derail your career. Protect yourself with the fail-safe Control Smart method found in
Manager's Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act.
Order your copy today!
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How to set up and monitor controls to ensure compliance
In a recent survey, Ernst & Young commented that, while large companies are spending millions of dollars to comply with the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, mid-sized and small companies are "stuck like deer in the headlights." Written especially for managers at such companies, Manager’s Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act lays out how they can assess and monitor their companies’ internal control structures. Using numerous case studies and vignettes, the book explains Sarbanes-Oxley and how it affects managers. Clearly written and practical, Manager’s Guide to the Sarbanes-Oxley Act is essential reading for managers, CEOs, CFOs, and auditors.
Scott Green, CPA (Long Island, NY), is currently the Global Head of Audit and Compliance for Weil, Gotshal and Manges–one of the largest law firms in the world and a leader in the practice of corporate governance.
Customer Reviews:
prompt delivery.......2005-09-14
It is important to receive email from seller to confirm the transaction, which he/she did. Prompt delivery. Book arrived in good condition as stated.
Far too general to be of value.......2005-07-13
Read this one a year ago and found it to be very non specific in the elements necessary to gain compliance. Now after three SOX engagements and having to deal with the intricacies of 404, this book stands as a poor introduction to the enormity of the task to follow.
If however one wishes to get a brief overview of what compliance and governance will mean to public companies, read away.
Poor Information value.......2005-07-05
I am writing a paper about SOA and read different books about it. In comparison to other books the Manager's Guide by Scott Green gives poor information about the SOA itself and talks about risks and controls most of the companies have realized centuries ago. In addition there are absurd comparisons to foreign laws, which maintain uselessness (for example a german law). I guess Scott Green has never been to Germany and doesn't know anything about Corporate Governance in Europe. I have traveled through Europe and found much better quality in leadership there and articles of most famous business magazins affirm my opinion.
The book is pure greed for money.
Packed with Knowledge !.......2005-02-23
The Sarbanes-Oxley Act is one of the most complex, costly pieces of legislation to emerge from Congress in the past two decades. Author Scott Green considers the legislation itself to be a risk - not merely to managers who might find themselves disgraced or imprisoned for mere mistakes and oversights, but also to the productive forces of American capitalism. His book outlines a process for identifying and managing the kind of risk that might result in violations of Sarbanes-Oxley. His approach is blessedly free from jargon and almost intuitively obvious. Other things about this book make it appealing to a reader who has waded through other analyses of Sarbanes-Oxley and who is concerned about full compliance. First, without oversimplifying, Green presents his prescription in simple, straightforward terms. Second, he does not make an overt sales pitch for his firm's consulting services. Third, he has apparently not service-marked his favorite terminology, such as "Smart Links." This restraint confirms that he actually has something to say to you, and is not merely trying to drum up business. What he has to say is not stunning or new, nor is it presented in sparkling prose, but we find it reasonably useful and well worth a manager's time to read.
Busting the Sarbanes-Oxley myths!.......2004-09-27
Boards of all shapes and sizes are wondering about the affect that Sarbanes-Oxley act will have upon their operations, accountability, and liability. But what about the managers running the day-to-day operations? Mr. Green kept his promise to "introduce groundbreaking and practical 'Control Smart' approach that not only meets the requirements of Sarbanes-Oxley, but also alerts you if operational controls stop working or are otherwise compromised."
While larger companies can afford to spend millions of dollars to implement control system monitoring tools, managers of small to mid-sized companies can be unsure of how to move forward if their budgets can't accommodate expensive advisors and systems. Mr. Green tells us in a forthright and clear manner that we must not depend on others to audit accountability into our reporting systems any more than we are able to test reliability or quality into our products. He places responsibility for our transparent transactions squarely on the shoulders of every manager and every employee throughout the organization.
The "Control Smart" approach to understanding where we need to make transformational changes and where we can live with transitional changes is easy to understand even as it is complex and difficult to execute. But we must all attempt to do so. Green insists that we can "walk our talk by taking the culture of our companies seriously. We are able to create positive values as company objectives and appropriately compensate those who uphold the company image." In this well written book, you will find the answer to just what it is that managers today need to do to implement the spirit and the law of Sarbanes-Oxley.
Book Description
61 songs, featuring: Come Rain or Come Shine * God Bless the Child * How High the Moon * The Last Time I Saw Paris * Moonlight in Vermont * A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square * A String of Pearls * Swinging on a Star * Tuxedo Junction * You'll Never Walk Alone.
Amazon.com
Smart Alliance concerns a most unlikely partnership between Chiquita Brands International (successor to the infamous United Fruit Company) and the Rainforest Alliance, a young environmental organization, and how they are transforming an industry. (And a huge industry at that—bananas are the most popular fruit in America and the most exported fruit in the world.) Their idea was simple in theory, yet revolutionary: adopt a "seal of approval" to certify fair treatment of workers and environmentally responsible farming practices as a way to win customers. Thus far, it has worked. Since agreeing to oversight by the Rainforest Alliance Chiquita has moved from bankruptcy to profitability and now the rest of the banana industry is paying attention. As a result of their willingness to comply with self-imposed environmental and social rules (at significant cost, it should be noted), they have been rewarded by consumers, a trend the authors believe can spread to other in! dustries: "When they are reliable informed, consumers can be transformed from passive victims of corporate spin into a legitimate political force focused on making responsible companies serious agents for positive societal change." Further, since such conscientiousness is driven by market forces, there is less need for governmental regulation. The book traces the relationship between Chiquita and the Rainforest Alliance since its inception in the early 1990s, analyzing many sides of the globalization debate along the way. Though the relationship is still young and significant challenges remain, there is much evidence that this story may signal a permanent shift towards what was once an unfathomable concept: that a large corporation can be both profitable and socially responsible. --Shawn Carkonen
Book Description
Large and wealthy global companies too often fail to acknowledge environmental responsibility or workers' rights. This book tells the dramatic story of one company-- Chiquita Brands International--that decided to change the negative paradigm. Formerly the notorious United Fruit Company, a paternalistic organization that gave the name "Banana Republic" to tropical countries in Central America, Chiquita defied all expectations in the mid-1990s by forming agreements with the Rainforest Alliance that transformed not only the corporation itself but also an important segment of the banana industry. Gary Taylor and Patricia Scharlin reveal the inside story of how corporate executives, banana workers, local leaders, and conservation advocates learned to work together and trust one another. Over the objections of skeptical critics, Chiquita and the Rainforest Alliance established a Better Banana "seal of approval" to certify genuine efforts to improve soil and water quality, ensure rainforest conservation, and enhance worker health and safety. This chronicle of their collaboration, told objectively and with extensive documentation, presents a promising new model of cooperative behavior-a model that shows how multinational companies can become motivated to solve critical global problems.
Average customer rating:
- reviews for the book
- good book
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Accounting for the Environment: Green Accounting
Rob Gray
Manufacturer: M. Wiener Pub.
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
 General
| Accounting
| Industries & Professions
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
Natural Resources
| Economics
| Business & Investing
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Biology
| Biological Sciences
| Science
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Accounting
| Accounting & Finance
| Professional & Technical
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 1558760768 |
Customer Reviews:
reviews for the book.......2006-06-29
"Rob Gray's book provides an excellent general introduction to the environment and business debate. The structure of the book allows the reader to either read it as a whole or to use it as an operational handbook. It is a highly accessible text, well-written and with an excellent index. Three appendices support the main text and provide information on sources of advice, on further reading, and on the research process which was used to gain empirical evidence on the greening of accountancy practice.
"This is an excellent and stimulating presentation of some of the most important issues, consequences and challenges involved in the relationship between business and the environment. The authors have achieved their aim of providing a general introduction to the subject, combined with a practical guide for use by accountants, and they have achieved this in a text which is both easy to read and well-presented. This book is an excellent value for the money, and it deserves to become a standard student text on a range of courses in both business schools and in departments concerned with environmental matters. In addition, it should occupy a prominent position on the bookshelves of those in business who are serious about their commitment to the environment."
----Business Strategy and The Environment
"Highly recommended reading."
----John Elkington, author of The Green Business Guide
"Highly accessible . . . wel written . . . excellent . . . stimulating."
----Business Strategy & The Environment
good book.......1998-09-02
Gray provides a broad overview of a number of popular arguments. The principle thesis of this text is that traditional accounting practices do not properly allocate environmental quality or compliance costs. Businesses therefore are prone to make decisions on the basis of thios flawed information which are both environmentally and financially harmful. Several pratical suggestions for modifying accounting systems are made, but no radical new ideas are presented.
Average customer rating:
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Occupational Crime
Gary S. Green
Manufacturer: Wadsworth Pub Co
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback
Criminology
| Crime & Criminals
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
General
| Sociology
| Social Sciences
| Nonfiction
| Subjects
| Books
ASIN: 0830414215 |
Book Description
This text departs from the problematic concept of "white-collar crime," which only emphasizes the status of the offender, by demonstrating that occupational crime is committed by those in all walks of life, using their legitimate employment as an opportunity for crime. Though the term "white-collar crime" is sometimes used to describe this type of illegal activity, Green presents a working definition of occupational crime and examines four subtypes: organizational occupational crime, state authority crime, professional occupational crime, and individual occupational crime. The text thoroughly describes major criminological theories, including sociology of law, and then applies them to specific kinds of occupational offenses throughout the book. Occupational Crime is a blending of academic theory, legal issues, anecdotes, case studies, empirical research, and policy analysis from the vast literature on occupational crime.
Book Description
Did you know that large corporations control the media so we never hear about toxic spills, rising cancer rates, food toxins and how fluoride in our water poisons people each day? Did you know the mighty Mississippi is one of the most polluted waterways in the world?
Our planet was once the Garden of Eden. Now it has been spoiled by Evil Geniuses who are getting rich while our loved ones are getting cancer. Evil Genius in the Garden of Eden will open your eyes to corporate madness sacrificing our families and future generations for profit.
The world's most noted scientists have warned us about the destructive consequences of corporate irresponsibility, global pollution and unsustainable business practices. We did not heed their call, and are suffering the consequences.
Discover how giant corporations are controlling the mass media to further their agendas, paying off scientists, invading our school systems with propaganda, defaming their opposition, changing laws and cheating us out of our futures.
Evil Genius in the Garden of Eden is perhaps the last wake-up call. Find out how you can turn things around, starting with your own diet and lifestyle.
Customer Reviews:
Brilliantly Written and Poignantly suggested.......2004-02-03
This book, in my opinion, is a brilliant piece of work that really opened my eyes. I always had a vague idea about what was going on in our country, but I never realized how ignorant I was until this book enlightened me. We are all fooled on a day to day basis, and I think if we could all open our eyes, and see the facts that are plain as day, we can make a difference and take our world back from these "evil geniuses." If there were more writers and observers as Shayne, I think we would all be much better off.
Great.......2004-02-03
I thought this book was excellent, and I continue to think that by educating yourself and those around you, life can change for the better, and we can renew our hope in living in a world less intoxicated by liars, theives and criminals who would rather kill us all than risk losing money over doing something constructive for the planet and the population at stake. Of course, Mr. Shayne is my father, and I edited his book. I standby my review just the same, as I think that the material is something that would benefit the world to know, especially the United States.
Books:
- Handbook on Urban Sustainability
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- History: Fiction or Science? (Chronology, No. 1)
- In a Dark Wood: The Fight Over Forests and the Myths of Nature
- In a Dark Wood: The Fight Over Forests and the Myths of Nature
- In Spite of the Gods: The Strange Rise of Modern India
- Individual Differences and Development in Organisations (Wiley Handbooks in Work & Organizational Psychology)
- Introduction to the Mathematics of Financial Derivatives
- ISO 14001 Environmental Certification Step by Step: Revised Edition
Books Index
Books Home
Recommended Books
- All the Shah's Men: An American Coup and the Roots of Middle East Terror
- Scorched Earth: The Russian-German War 1943-1944
- Circadian Rhythms: Methods and Protocols
- Golf Course Irrigation: Environmental Design and Management Practices
- History: Fiction or Science
- Seeing the Whole: Mapping the Extended Value Stream
- Move to Strike
- Becoming an Architect: A Guide to Careers in Design
- Ecological Architecture: A Critical History
- Flowering Plants. Monocotyledons: Alismatanae and Commelinanae
The Triple Bottom Line: How Today's Best-Run Companies Are Achieving Economic, Social and Environmental Success -- and How You Can Too
Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things
Harvard Business Review on Business and the Environment (A Harvard Business Review Paperback)
The Sustainability Revolution: Portrait Of A Paradigm Shift
