Article Directory :: Business - General Articles

Green Business Books to Boost Your Success

By Carol McClelland

Republish: EasyPublish™ Published: 29Jul2009 Word count: 1144 Viewed: 79 time(s) Get Free Content For Your Site

One of the keys to getting hired in the green economy is to be able to demonstrate your knowledge of green and sustainable concepts. Although you may, in some cases, need to take courses or get a degree, you also can significantly upgrade your knowledge by reading several well chosen books.

Seven Reasons to Read (or Listen to) Green Business Books on a Regular Basis

- Understand the impact of the problems we face locally, regionally, nationally, and globally

- Recognize how all the issues are interconnected

- Learn what commonly used phrases really mean

- Be inspired by innovative solutions that are available now

-Identify best practices and real life examples

- Follow the logic in detailed discussions of the pros and cons of this solution or that solution

- Demonstrate your knowledge in conversations and interviews

Our Recent Reading List

Check out these titles and summaries. Choose a couple you'd like to read or listen to. Be strategic and proactive by putting these on your to-do list or making these part of your job search/business start up plan.

In addition to gaining a lot of knowledge, I'm sure you'll be inspired and motivated by any of these books.

1) Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage by Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston

Reviewers on Amazon called this book the "Best Available Primer for Top Management" and an "Essential Book for Managers." I'd take it one step farther. I think this book is essential reading for anyone who wants to work in a green/sustainable company. If you have time to read only one book, I'd choose this book.

Over a four year period, the authors conducted hundreds of interviews, searched out success stories, and identified initiatives that didn't pan out. The goal of their book is to show businesses how combining environmental thinking and good business strategy makes for stronger businesses and a healthier planet.

In the book you'll find:

- A very valuable discussion of the Top 10 Environmental Issues and the related business consequences. (If you only read that section, you'd increase your knowledge of why the problems we face are so critical to solve.) - Their list of Top 50 "Wave Riders," big name companies that are actively wrestling with environmental issues as part of their business strategy. These are companies you've heard of. You can see their initiatives in action. A great source of case studies for learning and justifying green actions on the job. - The eight fundamental strategies and three business tools that companies are using to reduce their environmental impact while also making their companies more viable. - Thirteen reasons companies fail in their implementation of environmental sound measures. (What can you learn here to help your next employer?)

2) Natural Capitalism: Creating the Next Industrial Revolution by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins

Based on an article for the Harvard Business Review, this book that was first published in 1999 and more recently re-released in 2008, is another must-read for anyone who wants to work in the green/sustainable economy.

Based on the principle that business can improve its bottom line while solving environmental problems, the book is a "blueprint for sustainable development." We must change our ways and reduce the environmental messes created by the last industrial revolution. To illustrate their points, the authors use real world examples and talk about companies that are already using the Natural Capitalism model successfully.

By reading this book, you'll understand:

- Why it's important to value natural capital as well as human capital. (Hint: When we put a value to our natural resources, we'll pay more attention to how we use them or misuse them.) - Four core business strategies already being adopted by the most innovative corporations across the globe.

3) Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart

Although published in 2002, long before the Inconvenient Truth documentary opened our eyes to the threat of climate change, Cradle to Cradle is still a seminal book in the field of industrial design.

Their premise is manufacturing systems that grew out of Industrial Revolution produce a variety of unintended consequences in the form of waste and pollution. By designing with the intelligence of natural systems in mind we can create products, industrial systems, buildings, even regional plans that allow nature and business to co-exist.

The cradle to cradle phrase means that products can be used, recycled, and used again without losing any material quality. Their goal is to create zero waste; any waste becomes an input in another process.

Even if you aren't an industrial designer, you may want to familiarize yourself with these concepts to gain a better grasp of why this way of thinking is important in any setting.

4) Biomimicy: Innovation Inspired by Nature by Janine Benyus

Biomimicry is a revolutionary new science that encourages biologists, designers, architects, manufacturers and engineers to come to the same design table to discover bio-inspired solutions to problems in the built environment. In her book, Benyus proposes "ten lessons" that companies, cultures, or economies can use to promote a healthier existence for all of us. Why use exploitative and toxic technologies and materials when nature has elegant, naturally non-toxic solutions for many of the design issues we face.

Janine is passionate about this work. Her examples are fascinating and inspiring. Her work will help us live more sustainably on the planet. In the book she introduces us to scientists and researchers who are applying nature's ingenious solutions to the problem of human survival: analyzing how spiders manufacture a waterproof fiber five times stronger than steel; studying how electrons in a leaf cell convert sunlight to fuel in trillionths of a second; discovering miracle drugs by observing what animals eat -- and much more.

5) Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution - And How It Can Renew America by Thomas Friedman

This book is about the big picture, the global picture, of the state of the planet as a whole. In the book Thomas Friedman talks about climate change (hot), globalization (flat), and over population (crowded). Although each one of these issues is far-reaching enough to impact our planet, the combination has some extra punch that demands our attention...NOW!

Although this book isn't specific to business, it lays out the issues through stories and examples around the world. The first half of the book describes the issues that got us where we are now. The second half of the book offers ideas on how we can move forward.

In addition to these general titles, I recommend that you also do a search on titles that are relevant to your specific profession or industry. Remember, the more you immerse yourself in your target profession/industry, the easier it will be to ace your interview!

EasyPublish™ this article - publishers click here

More articles by Carol McClelland

Free Report!
Ten Essential Secrets Of Article Marketing ... Grab Your Free
Copy Now:

Need Content?
Regular Top Quality Content for your Blog, Ezine or Website ...
Delivered Direct,
For Free!
Click For Details