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Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
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Sales rank 180,926
Customers rating (based on 33 reviews)
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The essential guide for forward-thinking business leaders who see the Green Wave coming and want to profit from itThis 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.
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| Publisher | Yale University Press | | Release date | 10/2006 | | Availability | Usually ships in 24 hours | | Edition | Hardcover |
| | List price | $27.5 | | Our price | $18.15 (you save 34.00%) | | Used price | from $1 |
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 This book idolizes BP. I read it about 2 months before the horizon disaster.
This book puts BP on a pedestal as a green "wave rider". It idolized their proactive environmental policies and held them up as the example to follow. Where was the proactive measures in the gulf of mexico oil drilling operations? I know they weren't required but come on how can the lead "wave rider" wait for legislation to tell them the minimum they must do to protect the environment? I wish I had three hands so I could give this book (and BP) three thumbs down!
 Enduring Contribution To The "Sustainability" Dialogue
Dan Esty has touched all the academic bases: Harvard undergrad, Rhodes Scholar at Oxford and a JD from Yale. He earned his professional stripes through a long stint at the EPA, a visiting professorship at INSEAD and a directorship at Yale's Center for Environmental Law and Policy. And he has authored nine books on environmental matters -- the latest of which is "Green To Gold," co-written with Andrew Winston, Director of the Corporate Environmental Strategy Project at Yale.
So it wasn't for lack of preparation or credentials when (about a year after "Green To Gold" was published) Esty found a somewhat skeptical crowd when presenting his ideas at the Harvard Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative. Skeptical, because of the relatively new-found emphasis that Wall Street and Corporate America then were placing on environmental affairs and (more to the point) because Esty's policy prescriptions both lionized private sector environmental contributions and denigrated government watchdogs. Esty ran into a polite buzz-saw when he tried to sell the notion that government regulators should let private-sector leaders set standards for the new environmentalism:
"Right," grumbled one M.I.T professor as he left the crowded seminar room, "We're supposed to let the foxes guard the chicken coup?"
Nevertheless, Esty made interesting arguments about the inherent weaknesses of "Command and Control" bureaucracy in fostering widespread behavioral change that transcends political borders and ideologies. He also described opportunities presented by this window in time, public awareness and technology (which, among other things, provides enormous opportunities to expand market mechanisms -- as remote sensing and nanotech remove much of the administrative cost burden from monitoring.) Esty's views have been shaped by market-influenced success stories such as the phase-out of CFCs and the 1990 Acid Rain Tradeout Program. "Market mechanisms have started to prove themselves," he said, citing the flood of venture capital (this was pre-recession) then flowing into environmental technologies.
Although the research forming the basis for "Green To Gold" now is five (or more) years old, the book remains a relevant and enduring contribution to the sustainability conversation. In this book, Esty and Winston went beyond the heady world of policy abstractions political philosophies -- providing executives with a "toolkit" for analyzing their organizations' environmental situations. GTG continues to provide a useful framework for looking at the leading environmental challenges common to every organization. Listed here (in the authors' order of relative importance), those issues are:
Climate Change
Energy
Water
Biodiversity and Land Use
Chemicals, Toxics, and Heavy Metals
Air Pollution
Waste Management
Ozone Layer Depletion
Oceans and Fisheries
Deforestation
GTG serves as a useful primer for "The Big 10 by subjecting each issue to the authors' "AUDIO" analysis:
Aspects (business-relevant elements of environmental issues)
Upstream (looking back in the value chain)
Downstream (looking forward in the value chain)
Issues (company-specific challenges)
Opportunities (ways to profit a company and/or society)
Employing this matrix both provides a useful way to organize Big Picture thinking and also serves as a template for organizations to manage their own particular environmental situations. "Looking at all the ways environmental issues affect a business can frame thinking and strategy in a new way. By examining their business through an environmental `lens,' managers can avoid expensive problems and create substantial value."
Under the heading "Who Should Care The Most," the authors appeal to the self-interest of organizations with the greatest exposure (both upside and downside) to environmental issues. GTG lists these characteristics as indicators that a company has "more skin in the game":
High Brand Exposure
Big Environmental Impact
Natural Resource Dependence
Current Exposure to Regulations
Increasing Potential for Regulation
Competitive Markets for Talent
Low Market Power
Established Environmental Reputations
There's practical and worthwhile information here -- certainly a major contribution to the literature. In the book's introduction, the authors describe their Herculean work to "examine the canon of green business -- the major business books, articles, and case studies that had discussed the business-environment interface." Their findings?
"We were shocked by what we found. Most of the literature focused on "win-win" outcomes. Indeed, many of the books and articles had a cheerleading tone. Over 95% of the stories and examples talked only about the benefits of environmental thinking -- reducing environmental impact and saving money. Surely, we thought, these initiatives can't always be successful. No business strategy works all the time. Could this one-sided perspective and lack of analytic rigor be one of the reasons a broader business commitment to environmental action had not really taken hold? Were average business people skeptical of the unremittingly positive claims of green gurus? Where was the business-like edge and hard-hitting advice?"
After "four years talking to hundreds of people" and "poring over the data" the authors divulged their major lessons:
1) Even the best companies can be surprised by environmental issues.
2) The environment is not a fringe issue - it can cost businesses real money.
3) Real benefits can come from seeing things in a new light.
4) Smart companies seize competitive advantage through strategic management of environmental challenges.
(With the distance of several years since the book's writing, these lessons now seem elementary and self-evident. But one should remember that for many mainstream businesses at that time, "Green" consciousness was still in its infancy.)
As the "Green Wave" continues to mature and grow, environmental issues and sustainability initiatives will increasingly become standard fare for corporate decision-makers. And the marriage of environmental innovations and a deepening public consciousness certainly will impact the conversation about this complex sea of challenges. What's more, the "game-changing" oil disaster in the Gulf undoubtedly will continue to shape opinions and policies for years to come. In this complicated environment, solid research -- such as that provided in "Green To Gold" -- is essential to an informed dialogue and meaningful action.
Note: Dan Esty's further (and more current) thinking on sustainabiliity is available in "The Sustainability Initiative," (Harvard Business Review - May, 2010).
Sorting out Green for the Business Caase
Green. You see the word everywhere these days. The imagery surrounding the word is varied and sometimes evokes an emotional response that can even be polarizing. First, the debate surrounding global warming - or as it is now more widely accepted:"climate change" - took place. Many people, including parts of our own government, disputed whether any type of global climate change was or is taking place. The discussion over acceptance of the Kyoto treaty and its successors has taken place over two presidential administrations and will undoubtedly touch the administration of a third new president.
The economic development industry, or more appropriately, profession, has not ventured into the subject too deeply and, thus, has not been a leader on the framework as to how to approach the topic of what to do about the "green thing" and where all of this will lead. My search for a definition and understanding of how the greening of our globe, the debate on climate change, LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating Systems, oil prices, wind power, solar power, ethanol, sustainability and bio-fuels has been difficult and is still not complete.
What is an economic development professional to make of all this, and how can we safely, effectively and thoughtfully take advantage of a change in our world that will impact jobs and capital investment? What new changes will take place in the next 10 years that will affect our driving habits and change our thought patterns regarding everything we do, everything we consume and our quality of life and place? These are big questions that will take a long time to answer and yet may never be fully embraced.
To begin my learning process, I've spent a considerable amount of time digesting the book co-authored by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston called Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage. Esty is the Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, with appointments at both the Yale Law School and the Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies. Winston is director of the Corporate Environmental Strategy Project at Yale's Environment School. He has advised companies on corporate strategy while at Boston Consulting Group and has held management positions in strategy and marketing at such leading media companies as Time Warner and Viacom.
I was thrilled to have an opportunity to hear Esty speak at Illinois State University earlier this year as part of a program put on by the Illinois State University Office of Environmental Sustainability. Professor Esty has a long governmental and research background, along with experience in the private sector. Professor Esty's research has focused on "next generation" regulation and the relationships between the environment and trade, competitiveness, governance and development. He is the author or editor of nine books and numerous articles on environmental policy issues. At the end of this article is a list of his other books.
So how does a company go about developing a green or sustainability strategy? Certainly this is all new. No one has delved into this until very recently. Well, the truth is there are a number of companies, some with unlikely pedigrees, that have been on the forefront of sustainability and environmental awareness for some time. Growing up in the era of the crying Native American with litter at his feet in the now-famous commercial and at least one earlier energy crisis, I feel that I have grown up with environmental awareness for many years. From urging my mother to try using phosphate-free laundry detergent while in grade school to always being part of a recycling program, environmental awareness has always been with me and everyone that follows me in age. My children (ages 16 and 20) have always known what recycling is and are now being inundated by the green and sustainability message. If they choose to work for a corporation or business, the strategies and tactics outlined in this book will likely be a ubiquitous part of business life as well.
Esty and Winston divide the book into four sections. The first section, "Preparing for a New World," is divided into three chapters that describe the issues, opportunities, influences, markets and stakeholders in the sustainability world. These chapters are written in a very clear and workmanlike manner. In fact, the book is filled with tables, protocols, matrices and other helpful sidebars that any executive or CEO would find helpful. Much of Chapter Two describes the "natural drivers" impacting the environment. These include (in order) 1) Climate Change; 2) Energy; 3) Water; 4) Biodiversity and Land Use; 5) Chemicals, Toxics and Heavy Metals; 6) Air Pollution; 7) Waste Management; 8) Ozone Layer Depletion; and 9) Oceans and Fisheries. Throughout the rest of the book these drivers are revisited.
In this section, the authors make it clear that there are many varied parties impacting these nine areas. The proverbial tree-huggers are not the only people impacting change at the corporate level when it comes to greening and sustainability. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs), regulators, politicians and media are not the only groups pursuing the green agenda. Industry, competitors, suppliers and business leaders with concerns for the environment and how their company is viewed are also putting pressure on the agenda and the change in the business practices in regard to sustainability. According to the authors, the push for the "Greening of America," and the globe for that matter, is a democratic and diverse push and one that, if ignored, could mean financial failure for businesses that don't pay attention.
The second section, "Strategies for Building Eco-Advantage," describes the risks and rewards for companies that engage in an eco-strategy. Michael Porter, a Harvard Business School Professor and recognized by the economic development community for his work in sector analysis, is the world's leading authority on competitive strategy and economic competitiveness. His work has greatly influenced the federal approach to economic development and has described two categories of competitive advantage for companies: lower its costs compared with the competition and differentiate its product on quality, features or service. Keeping his tenants in mind in the context of an eco-strategy, if a company can regulate and reduce its inputs, the energy consumed and time spent on regulatory requirements, the bottom line theoretically will be improved. From a revenue side, environmental stewardship requires the building of intangible relationships with customers, stockholders and other stakeholders. Managing the downside through "eco-efficiency;" eco-expense reduction; lowering costs upstream and downstream; building the upside through design, sales and marketing and intangibles are the green-to-gold plays the authors put forward in this section.
The final two sections, "What WaveRiders Do" and "Putting It All Together," provide the reader with examples of companies already engaged and putting it all together. The authors do an excellent job of showing examples throughout the book of eco-strategy companies that have not only implemented programs but have profited from them. The chapters explain in detail leading companies' success in implementing profit-oriented strategies and tactics. The "Eco-Advantage Mindset" which the authors have devised is a five-rule guide for developing and driving a company's eco-strategy. Using examples of 3M, IKEA, DuPont, GrupoNueva, Monsanto and others, the authors clearly and specifically lay out how each of the five rules can help a company develop its strategy.
"Putting It All Together" is an apt title to the final chapter of this book. If one is looking for a definitive guidebook for understanding how some of the leading companies globally are implementing eco-green-sustainability strategies and profiting from them, not only monetarily but also from a public perception viewpoint, this is the handbook needed. This is not the "Whole Earth Catalog" or a philosophical tome on why one should buy in on the green concept. This is a book that digs right in, spends a little time on history, influencers and shapers of the eco-friendly movement and then finally gives the reader a plethora of information, tactics, strategies, principles and concepts on how business can move through this era of change. If you think this is just a passing fad, think again. For more years than you might imagine, large companies have been incorporating eco-friendly strategies and principles for sustainability reasons, not merely for corporate sustainability, but because their employees, customers, shareholders and the countries they operate in have asked or demanded them to do so. In these companies, it is part of their risk analysis, their marketing programs and their long-term plan for shareholder and investor return. To them, this is not a fad.
If you are seeking definition and are trying to wrap your arms around this topic as I was, this book is a great primer and guidebook. There is much to read, many tables, sidebars and interesting anecdotes about companies and businesses that are leading in best practices. While it provides examples of some very large companies with great resources, my question as I read the book was can it help a small business, perhaps a business with five, 10, perhaps 100 employees? The answer is yes, but it will take more work. The guidelines and principles in this book can help any size business; it merely takes some work to distill the vast amount of information.
Green. What does it mean? Esty and Winston have clearly shown that from businesses large and small, green can mean more than being good stewards of the environment. Green can also mean profit and return on investment. This is the incentive that many are looking for to take the green movement beyond a fad and into the real thing.
Informative Book, Easy Read
The book is excellent. It is packed with good information on sustainable strategy in both the short and long runs. It does not, however, read like a textbook...which is very refreshing!
Never been delivered
Crappy! just never been delivered even if they answered my mails i never been delivered!
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