'followed by promising content!

At first I wasn't sure what to think about such a promising title. Honestly: I doubted that this book can cover implementation strategies for every business and organization. I have to admit that after reading the proposed techniques I was surprised how adaptable they seem to be. Needless to say, I haven't applied all suggestions and still cannot judge if the advices given would suit every business and organization to create and implement sustainability plans. However, I can say that the proposed ideas are outlined in a very logical manner and, thanks to their relatively broad description, are not industry-specific. Although this makes Hitchcock and Willard's concept sound more feasible and adaptable, the wide-ranging descriptions automatically lacks specification. I would recommend this book to everyone who is looking for sustainable ideas, not to those who expect specific advice for their situation.

- Frank Roettgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

With 'Leading Change Toward Sustainability' Doppelt wrote an useful guide for everyone who starts from the beginning and wants to make his business sustainable. Well structured, this book leads the reader through several stages of how to become sustainable. Although I missed some explanations at various points why Doppelt suggests his ideas, it offers a lot of practical advice for restructuring a company. He could have gotten a bit more into detail when it comes to environmental practices and their relation to sustainability, but apart from that I liked the read very much and recommend it.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

What I liked most about this book is the concept of eco-effectiveness. Braungart explains how businesses are able to become more environmental friendly and more profitable by restructuring their production processes and supply chain. I doubt that this is as feasible for any business or organization as it might sound like while reading the book, but it sure is a brilliant concept. I recommend this book to anyone who wants his business to be green and sustainable. If you want to have a positive effect on this planet, read it and integrate it into your daily business.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

'to a hopefully different way of doing business. Authenticity, responsibility, and transparency are the keywords Hollender and Breen bring across in this little business manifest. I really enjoyed the read and always speculated when someone finally publishes a book on this. Apparently in 2010 it was about time. Not that this is the only book on responsibility/sustainability/environmental revolution. Hawken, Esty and Winston etc. surely prepared the ground for Hollender and Breen, but 'The Responsibility Revolution' is different. While in former books sustainability was the cornerstone of gaining a competitive advantage, Hollender and Breen claim that going beyond sustainability is what separates the wheat from the chaff in the future.

A really interesting and informatory read. An essential read for all visionaries and business professionals who want a new perspective.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

Corporate social responsibility is also about being authentic. McElhaney picks up on this concept and specifically writes about the connection between CSR measures and branding. She shows that a good brand needs to reflect the core values of a company and its efforts regarding social responsibility measures to make long term profits. Furthermore, she describes that an inside-out perspective with a focus on customer needs enables a company to adjust a brand to the needs of the market and is the beginning of sustainable business practices. Although I think that everyone who read Porter, Miller, Day, and Barney on inside-out and outside-in perspectives will come to the conclusion that in most cases there is no sustainable success without incorporating both perspectives to certain degrees, McElhaney makes a valid point.

I, personally, think that authenticity, honesty, transparency, and (depending on the definition of this term in an economic sense) sometimes even simplicity will become more and more vital in the world of business to be and remain competitive in the long run. Just Good Business is a book that picks up on this and provides a great introduction how to brand products and companies authentically.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

That could be the motto of this book. First things first: I think there are better books out there explaining the concept of corporate social responsibility in more detail. However, it seems that Urip's intention was not to give the reader a solid and theoretical understanding of CSR. She was more concerned about the practical side of CSR and packed her book with ten case studies. Reporting from her own experiences as the former CEO of Unilever Indonesia, she offers a bundle of successful CSR implementation strategies and practical examples how to make CSR campaigns work.

If you think you have read enough theory on CSR and want more real-life examples, this is a book for you.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

Everyone who read a few Porter articles or books knows that his line of argument holds water. It is the same with this book. On a very academic yet practical level Porter and Lee outline the concept of corporate social responsibility, how to market it, how to implement it in an organization, and how to integrate it into your business model.

After outlining a bit of history of corporate social responsibility, where it came from, and how it made its way into today's world of business, Porter and Lee directly jump into their personal domains: marketing. Pretty much half of this book is about marketing and social marketing. This should hardly surprise anyone if you look at the fields of expertise of the two authors. However, apart from the marketing focus, this book provides practitioners and professionals with three chapters of practical advice on how to put CSR into practice. Therefore, this is an excellent starting point for everyone who is new to the concept of CSR and introducing it in an organization.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

I have to agree with Mad Max (see other review) on the downsides of this book regarding the idea of more privatization solving future environmental problems. However, since the downsides are already discussed in detail by other reviewers, I would like to comment on the positive things I found in this book. Werbach, for example, mentions the importance of leadership when it comes to sustainable practices. In most books you can find chapters about how other companies achieved energy conservation or how they marketed their company green(er), but only a few authors write about the importance of individuals and their impact on the success of a sustainable strategy. I've experienced entire company cultures coined by one executive. If an individual in such a position is able to pass on his positive attitude towards sustainability and environmental friendly business practices to his employees and colleagues entire business models can be turned upside down.

I think it was about time that Werbach picks up this topic. These soft issues like employee motivation and personal identification with an organization's overall goals might not be considered (how Werbach puts it) a 'Strategy for Sustainability' by everyone. However, strategy is a ductile term and depending on the definition you find, engaging employees and getting your staff aboard with your corporate values and goals can definitely be considered a strategy. Out of my opinion, getting everyone in an organization to fit into the overall sustainable framework and empower them to identify themselves with a green strategy is vital for gaining a sustainable competitive advantage.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

If you are looking for a book that provides you with a comprehensive understanding what sustainability in an organization is about and how other companies handled this topic, your search is hereby over. There are a few books out there which only contain the theory about the sustainability concept. Epstein's 'Making Sustainability Work' provides a well balanced mix between introducing theory and examples of best practices. Covering a lot of topics such as sustainable leadership style, sustainable cultural frameworks, risks associated with sustainability, social impacts, and reporting systems Epstein touches most of the areas that either impact the sustainability of an organization or are influenced by it.

However, sometimes I had the feeling that he could have gone more into depth. E.g. in chapter five, where he covers performance evaluation and reward systems, I missed a few deeper insights into what really motivates employees and aligns them with sustainable strategies. Furthermore, I missed the part about how to market sustainability internally and externally. Nevertheless, the given advices based on Epstein's experience are reason enough to read it, not to mention the most valuable best practice examples.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies

Wow, what a book. I just finished it this week and I can tell you this: if you read it and you do not start to think about the world as you know it and its instability regarding political constructs and economical systems, you should probably see a doctor.

About 'The Ecology of Commerce' I wrote that it is a green business manifesto. However, 'Natural Capitalism' is even more and bigger when it comes to its statements about the future of the industrial world. With a more determined line of argument Hawken, Lovins, and Lovins do not only forecast the next industrial revolution but simultaneously initiate it by publishing this book. I am confident that this book is the stimulus of a new discussion which needs to be led, not only by business professionals, but everyone who is actually interested in the future of this planet and where we are going with it.

- Frank Röttgers, author of Going Green Together - How to Align Employees with Green Strategies