The Sustainable Mba

Description

"The Sustainable MBA" provides the knowledge and tools to help you 'green' your job and organization, to turn sustainability talk into action for the benefit of your bottom line and society as a whole. Based on more than 100 interviews with experts in business, international organizations, NGOs and universities from around the world, this first of its kind guide brings together all the pieces of the business and sustainability puzzle including: the basics on what sustainability is, why you should be interested, how to get started, and what a sustainable organization looks like. It includes: a wide range of tools, guidelines, techniques and concepts that you can use to implement sustainability practices; tools and tips on how to 'green' your job, including how to sell these ideas to your team, how to make green choices as a consumer and how to organize green meetings; a survey of the exciting trends in sustainable business happening around the world; and a wealth of links to interesting resources for more information.

Reviews

ââ¦provides a comprehensive course plan, an accessible reference guide and a series of handy hintsâ¦' (The Environmentalist, February 2010). ââ¦a book that can be read straight through or used as a resource to consult on specific topicsâ¦a practical aid.' (CA Magazine, March 2010).

Author description

Giselle Weybrecht's commitment to sustainable development goes back to before her university years. Since then she has expanded her reach to local and national government, business, social entrepreneurs, and the international community. She worked for the United Nations World Water Assessment Programme, is a fellow of the UC Berkeley-based Beahrs Environmental Leadership Programme, and holds an MBA from London Business School. She is currently developing new approaches to raise awareness among managers of how they can incorporate sustainability into their businesses and everyday professional lives.

Table of contents

Dedication. Preface. Acknowledgments. PART 1: SETTING THE SCENE. Chapter 1: About this book. Who is The Sustainable MBA for and why should I read it? What you will fi nd in The Sustainable MBA? How The Sustainable MBA is organized. Ideas on how to use this book. Planet Earth fact sheet. Chapter 2: What is sustainability? The basics. Other definitions. Sustainable development: a global effort. Chapter 3: What does this mean for business? The sustainability sales pitch. Chapter 4: The sustainability journey. What does a leading company look like? Chapter 5: Getting started. Getting past internal excuses. PART 2: THE CORE TOPICS. Chapter 6: Accounting. Why is it important? The Key Concepts. Full or true cost accounting. Materiality. Key performance indicators. Measuring social impact. Sustainability in financial statements. Assurance. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Bringing it all together. Increased disclosure. Recognizing unrecognized assets. Sustainability reporting. Chapter 7: Economics. Why is it important? The Key concepts. Sustainable consumption. The commons. Externalities. Regulatory instruments. Market based instruments. Re-evaluating metrics. Emerging markets. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Alternative trading system. A new economic model. Estimating the costs of inaction. From free to fee. Valuing future generations. Environmental valuation. Business and the world's poor. Chapter 8: Entrepreneurship. Why is it important? The Key concepts. Social/environmental ventures. Social/environmental entrepreneurs. Intrapraneurs. Generating ideas. Funding. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Microbusinesses. Social stock exchange. Big business working with SMEs. Marketing on a shoestring. Some advice for entrepreneurs. Chapter 9: Ethics and corporate governance. Why is it important? The Key concepts. Business and human rights. Labour and working conditions. Ethics and the individual manager. Corporate governance. Corruption. Bribery. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Transparency and honesty. Management 2.0. The company of the future. Whistleblowing. The role of the CEO. Chapter 10: Finance. Why is it important? The Key concepts. Sustainable investment. Fiduciary responsibilities. Tracking performance. Mergers and acquisitions. Project finance. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. New landscape for corporate ownership. Insurance and sustainability. Focus on long-term value. A new kind of bank. Microfinance. Chapter 11: Marketing. Why is it important? The Key concepts. People. Products. Price. Place: retailers and sustainability. Packaging. Eco-labels. Social marketing. Cause-related marketing. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Green = inexpensive. From eco-iconic to eco-embedded. Understanding how people think. Communicating with the customer ... virtually. The barcode reinvented. Advertising dos and don'ts. Chapter 12: Operations. Why is it important? The Key concepts. Eco-design. 'Green' chemistry. Doing more with less. Sustainable technology. Suppliers. Transportation. Waste management. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Inspiration from nature. Products that do more. Traceability. Instant Feedback focused on better use. Exploring new materials. Life cycle analysis. Chapter 13: Organizational behaviour. Why is it important? The Key concepts. Creating a 'sustainability' culture. Communicating sustainability internally. Recruiting-who is interviewing whom? Employee engagement in sustainability. Aligning incentives. Talent development and training. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Sustainability balanced scorecard. Diversity. Creating great workplaces. Changing the way we talk. Managing change. Chapter 14: Strategy. Why is it important? The Key concepts. Understanding the wider business environment. Understanding where you stand. Understanding risk. Exploring different strategies. Setting objectives and goals. Working with others. Influencing change. Challenges. Trends and new ideas. Reinventing the business model. Zero and 100 %. Instant information. Strategic philanthropy. Transformation of partners. Why do Initiatives fail? Stakeholder engagement. PART 3: TOOLS. Chapter 15: Tools for monitoring, managing and improving performance. Assessments. Example: Conducting an environmental or social risk assessment. Audits. Example: waste audit. Environmental and social management systems. Choosing standards and codes. Chapter 16: Tools for greening offices and buildings. Steps for setting up offi ce greening programmes. Buildings. Energy. Water. Waste and recycling. Paper. Electronics. All those other little things. Commuting to work. Organizing green events and meetings. Putting together a green team. Performance contracting. PART 4: WRAPPING IT ALL UP. Chapter 17: What can I do? As an employee-leading by example. As a consumer-putting your money where your mouth is. As a citizen-be active in your community. Chapter 18: What will the future bring? Twenty-one wise words of advice. Additional resources: who, what, where and how. Who: different groups. What: sustainability issues. Where: around the world. How: keeping up to date. Endnotes. Index.