Greening our businesses

Anderson, called by Time magazine "a hero of the environment," transformed his carpet-manufacturing company, Interface, to 100 percent sustainability. Now he offers a highly inspirational book, showing how, starting in 1994, he steered his company "on a new course—one designed to reduce our environmental footprint while increasing our profits." His own inspiration came from Paul Hawken's The Ecology of Commerce: A Declaration of Sustainability. Anderson's company cut greenhouse gas emissions by 82 percent, eight of ten Interface plants have achieved the 100 percent renewable energy mark, and the company uses 100 percent recycled yarn for carpets. While implementing these green initiatives, the company increased sales by 66 percent, doubled earnings, and raised profit margin. Crucially, Anderson describes the organizational and managerial steps that he took to achieve these goals. VERDICT Essential reading for anyone, whether lay, student, or practitioner, interested in business success today and in the environment.

In offering his own take on the strategies and issues involved for a company going green, Friend (president & founder, Natural Logic, Inc.) writes that it's about "the hard nosed realities of business—and about the innovative new course being set by some of the world's best companies large and small." Drawing on his own consulting experience—notably with Hewlett Packard, Conair, and Levi Strauss—he examines issues including the impact of climate change, why a business should go green, green regulations, carbon footprinting, reducing emissions, green branding, engaging employees, and preparing contingency plans. This source can be read from cover to cover, but readers will easilly be able to skip to the sections that most interest them. VERDICT With useful bibliographical references for further reading, this readable and practical book is recommended to neophytes, while experienced green business practitioners will appreciate an office copy as well.

Kaplan (founder, Greenhance LLC) provides a book "designed to guide you through the green planning process, and provide you with the practical information and resources you need to go green." She includes definitions, historical background of the "going green" initiative, case studies of companies, and advice on recycling, conserving water, developing a green plan for a company, and communicating the green mission to stakeholders. She also provides useful nitty-gritty information, such as how to decipher recycling symbols and what eco-labels are. Especially helpful are the web resources and bibliographical references for further research. VERDICT An excellent first book for learning how to "green" the small business. For practitioners and students.

This book by an engineer and industry consultant "aims to give leaders and practitioners in any organization the practical insight necessary to help them move their enterprise toward a higher level of environmental stewardship regardless of their current level of 'green' maturity." Olson examines why the importance of environmental stewardship will increase in the future and discusses how to formulate a green strategy to complement traditional strategy, prepare a framework to pursue a green strategy, and implement business process transformation methodologies. He provides case studies of industries and companies, analyzing their specific approaches to environmental planning, e.g., IBM's Green Sigma as a methodology to increase operational efficiency and reduce waste. VERDICT For more advanced readers, whether practitioners or business school faculty and students.

Winston (coauthor, Green to Gold), a corporate consultant on environmental issues, writes how during a time of an economic downturn it is more important than ever for companies to continue green initiatives. He maintains that "green thinking can help spur an economic recovery for companies and for countries" and that "green is about doing more with less which can save you money quickly." Winston recommends "revving up" energy and resource efficiency to survive the downturn, using environmental data about products and value chains, becoming creative by asking "heretical" questions, and getting employees engaged in the process. Among the specific strategies for success that he discusses are upgrading heating and cooling systems, reducing the expense of information technology, reducing corporate travel by use of virtual meetings, and increasing recycling. VERDICT With case studies of companies that have gone green and its distinctive exploration of how going green aids economic recovery, this is recommended to managers and business students.