Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
by Director Daniel C. Esty, Andrew S. Winston
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Book Summary Information
Author: Andrew S. Winston, Director Daniel C. EstyEdition: Hardcover
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language); English (Published)
Published: 2006-10-09
ISBN: 0300119976
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Yale University Press
Book Reviews of Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage
Book Review: A required reading to all executives!
Summary: 5 Stars
This book explores what every executive must know to manage the environmental challenges facing society and business. According to the authors, companies generate lasting value by building environmental thinking into their business strategies. This book attempts to show how to be good stewards of the Earth while simultaneously building the bottom line; how to keep a sharp focus on execution while using an environmental strategy; and ways to cope with environmental pressures and responsibilities.
According to the authors, the state of the art in environmental thinking can be summed up with the slogan, "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle." The best pollution-control option is to reduce the use of resources and eliminate waste. The next best option is to refurbish or reuse items. Then recycle what's left. As a last resort, throw something out.
I really enjoyed the many case studies included. Here are a few:
(a) In the weeks before Christmas 2001, the Dutch government was blocking Sony's entire European shipment of PlayStation game systems; more than 1.3 million boxes were sitting in a warehouse because a small, but legally unacceptable, amount of the toxic element cadmium was found in the cables of the game controls. Sony rushed in replacements to swap out the tainted wires. It also tried to track down the source of the problem by inspecting more than 6,000 factories and resulted in a new supplier management system. The total cost of this environmental problem was more than $130 million.
(b) In a speech to shareholders, Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott vowed to cut energy use by 30 percent; to use 100 percent renewable energy (from sources like wind farms and solar panels); and to double the fuel efficiency of its massive shipping fleet. The company will invest $500 million annually in these energy programs.
(c) In the mid-1990s, executives at Unilever saw a big threat to one of their product lines. Supply for the frozen fish sticks business was at risk because the oceans were running out of fish. In partnership with World Wildlife Fund, the company set up the Marine Stewardship Council, an independent body to promote sustainable fisheries around the world. The Council certifies fisheries where the total catch is limited so that fish populations do not diminish over time. To create specific incentives for fishermen to seek certification, Unilever committed to buying 100 percent of its fish from sustainable sources by 2005.
(d) Over the last 15 years, chemical giant DuPont has cut its contribution to global warming by 72 percent. Half of the cuts came from changing one process: the production of adipic acid. This modification eliminated emissions of nitrous oxide, a potent greenhouse gas that causes far more warming than carbon dioxide.
(e) IKEA is proud of its "flat packaging." Efforts to squeeze millimeters out of every box have allowed the company to pack its trucks and trains tighter. That saves up to 15 percent on fuel per item.
(f) Toyota saw the Green Wave coming and responded with the energy-efficient "hybrid" Prius, a breakthrough product that enhanced profits.
According to the authors, the top 10 environmental issues facing humanity are:
1. Climate Change. This includes rising sea levels, changes in rainfall patterns, severe droughts and floods, harsh hurricanes and new pathways for disease.
2. Energy. Companies selling goods and services that promise to improve energy efficiency will claim market share.
3. Water. Companies around the world now face limits on access to water.
4. Biodiversity and Land Use. Biodiversity preserves our food chain and the ecosystem on which all life depends. It also holds prospects of new drugs, foods and other products. A key factor in the decline of biodiversity is habitat loss.
5. Chemicals, Toxics and Heavy Metals. Part of what makes air pollution more dangerous is the presence of toxic elements. Exposure to chemicals like dioxin, a byproduct of production processes such as papermaking, and heavy metals such as lead and mercury can create severe public health risks.
6. Air Pollution. Significant air-quality controls on factories, cars and other emissions sources have reduced air pollution over the past 30 years in the United States, Japan and Europe. But the air is still not clean.
7. Waste Management. The EPA estimates that the 1,200 Superfund sites across the country will require
about $200 billion to clean up over the next 30 years. Under the liability provisions of the Superfund law, anyone found responsible for the waste at a site can be held liable for the full cost of cleanup, even if the toxics were legally disposed.
8. Ozone Layer Depletion. With a thinned ozone layer, the world becomes a more dangerous place, with
reduced agricultural productivity, higher risk of skin cancer and other health problems.
9. Oceans and Fisheries. More than 75 percent of the world's fisheries are over-exploited and beyond sustainability.
10. Deforestation. Every company that uses wood, paper or cardboard packaging has a stake in, and responsibility for, the state of our forests. When McDonald's realized 15 years ago that litter was an issue, it began working on reducing packaging.
Companies can and should be a force for good, leading the charge on caring for the environment and protecting our shared natural assets. Financial and environmental success can be achieved together. With the right mindset and tools, companies can handle the hard trade-offs.
This is a great book that should be required reading to executives at all levels!
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