Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts - Tapa dura

They are realising they must effectively manage their social and ecological impacts in order not just to excel, but to survive. With stakes so high, the question on every corporate leader's mind is how to make CSR a reality.

In Making Sustainability Work, Marc Epstein firstly acknowledges somewhat reassuringly the difficult nature of putting these step changes in place. This book spells out the plan to make sustainability happen, with practical day-to-day, results-oriented sense. This is not just a "how to do" guide but very much a "how to get it done" bible. Epstein crucially includes instructions on how to measure the results of CSR initiatives, which is notably lacking in previous texts. Drawing on research into best practices of 100 companies worldwide including Starbucks, Dell and Coca-Cola, the book puts forward a model for implementing sustainability initiatives. Although vast, the topics covered revolve around the following critical areas:* The role of executive management in leading sustainability activities* How organisational design can improve sustainability* Integration of social risk factors into investment, costing and risk* Improving sustainability performance through incentives and rewards* Measuring corporate social, environmental and economic impactsMaking Sustainability Work successfully translates the strategic rhetoric of CSR initiatives into practical, real-life use. Epstein provides and explains tools, processes and metrics to produce and monitor true corporate sustainability. This insightful guide will appeal to corporate leaders, strategists, academics, sustainability consultants, and anyone else with an interest in actively practicing sustainability. http://www.lmcuk.com/book-review/making-sustainability-work - London Management Centre

As a practitioner's guide, Epstein's book offers several virtues not found in other similar sustainability works for managers. First and foremost, his language is the language of business ... Second, sustainability impacts are described using quantitative measures based on Epstein's extensive experience across decades of work with companies. Third, the challenge of sustainability is framed in terms of structures, systems, and procedures ... Fourth, a range of management techniques is offered, including scenario planning to assess future trends. Fifth, the work is peppered with relevant examples to illustrate key points ... And sixth, Epstein does an elegant job in providing a broad strategic vision of the role of global corporations in today's world – a role in which innovation and profit are consistent with addressing sustainability challenges for society and the environment ... Epstein has done a remarkable job of taking the existing methods of management and expanding them to include environmental and social impacts that, until now, were externalized or relegated to the business fringe. Armed with the insights and techniques in this book, practitioners will be able to tackle the sustainability challenges of their organizations in ways that can make them and their companies more successful.Read the full review (PDF) - Chris Laszlo, visiting professor at Case Western Reserve University's Weatherhead School of Manageme

Promising to deliver the guida

The best practices in corporate sustainability performance are no longer the exclusive domain of companies like Ben & Jerry's or The Body Shop, as they were a decade ago; now, large, multinational companies like G.E. and Wal-Mart are leading the way with significant financial and organizational commitments to social and environmental issues. However, good intentions aren't enough. Whether motivated by concern for society and the environment, government regulation, stakeholder pressures, or economic profit, managers and strategists need to continue making significant changes to more effectively manage their social, economic, and environmental impacts – and to remain competitive. The guidance they need to do that is in this book.

Marc Epstein has produced the ultimate "how-to-do-it" guide for corporate leaders, strategists, academics, sustainability consultants, and anyone else with an interest in actually making sustainability work for organizations. With a growing number of corporate leaders asking for urgent help in "getting this done," the timing of the book could not be better.