Global Sustainability: 21 Leading CEOs Show How to Do Well by Doing Good

by Mark Lefko

Overview

Smart business leaders care about Sustainability. It’s not just good PR—it’s good business, and a growing number of leading CEOs are embracing it.

Mark Lefko’s Global Sustainability examines this vital subject from the perspective of today’s most influential business leaders. Global Sustainability means ensuring that everyone on Earth has what they need to survive and thrive. But in order for this to be feasible—and sustainable—businesses need to be able to turn a profit. Lefko shares profound insights gleaned from his one-on-one interviews with business leaders of all stripes, from the CEOs of Global Multinationals, Fortune 50 giants to visionaries leading plucky startups. Learn from these CEOs and others: Sir Richard Branson-Virgin Group, Paul Polman-Unilever, Ann Sherry-Carnival Australia, Feike Sijbesma-DSM, David MacLennan-Cargill, Marc Benioff-Salesforce. In exclusive interviews, these 21 leading CEOs explain:

How the Global Sustainability movement is shaping the growth of the most profitable companies around the world

How your company can participate fully in this movement—and profit from your participation

How your guiding ethical principles shape your company’s identity … and why they’re vital to your survival

Global Sustainability is about more than just doing good; it’s about doing well by doing good.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781683501787
Publisher:	Morgan James Publishing
Publication date:	11/15/2016
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	173
File size:	3 MB

About the Author

Mark Lefko has coached and mentored more than 100 CEOs and company presidents, bringing with him 35 years of real-world C-level business experience. A thought leader in the fields of leadership and sustainability, Lefko is known for his high-energy and insightful speaking engagements. As the Founder and CEO of The Lefko Group, one of the nation's leading facilitation firms for corporate retreats and industry peer groups, he has led countless strategic planning retreats, corporate think tanks, industry roundtables and sustainability peer groups. He has served as a visiting faculty member at the Business School for Entrepreneurs in Kuala Lumpur, where he taught business owners how to increase their company’s market value. His first book, “Unlock the Power of Your Team,” is a guide to building better, more productive business teams. With his second book, Global Sustainability, he aims to inspire executives to rally around the theme of doing well by doing good. He lives in Los Angeles, California. Mark Lefko’s Website: www.marklefko.com

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ix

Invitation xii

Chapter 1 Establish Guiding Principles 1

Chapter 2 Practice Long-Term Thinking 13

Chapter 3 Deal Fairly and Ethically with Suppliers, Employees, and Customers 26

Chapter 4 Be Concerned about Your Employees' Motivation and Well-Being 36

Chapter 5 Support the Well-Being of the Communities Where You Do Business 47

Chapter 6 Form Good Partnerships 66

Chapter 7 Find Ways to Reduce Waste 83

Chapter 8 Be Adaptable-and Seize Opportunities 94

Chapter 9 Measure the Return on Sustainability Investment 108

Chapter 10 Conclusion and Call to Action 120

Index 137

Appendix Interviewee Photos 139

About the Author 145

Editorial Reviews

Clear and concise, Global Sustainability, with examples drawn from the corporate world, functions as a manual for large-scale business sustainability.

Though it does deal with ecological sustainability, this book tackles sustainability in every sense, encompassing community economics, employee ownership, and public image. The author has done a fine job lining up high-profile business types, including Richard Branson of Virgin Airlines and Walter Robb of Whole Foods, to deliver advice for the aspiring sustainable business. The message is that sustainable business is not only possible, but preferable and profitable.

The approach is practical to the extreme, even to the point of nearly ignoring the usual ethically and morally high-minded reasons for engaging in sustainability. This turns out to be its most significant strength, and in itself may represent an innovation in the climate-change and social-responsibility discussions as far as the business world is concerned.

The author presents many solid old arguments in fresh, convincing ways. Several hinge on aspects of the modern world that would not have made sense twenty years ago, such as the existence of the Internet. Additionally, the book avoids politics altogether. It covers solely the business world and proposes that business is powerful enough—and self-interested enough—to change the world for its own good. Takeaway summary points at the end of each brief chapter represent reliable shorthand for businesspeople who find themselves without the calendar space to devote to an overly philosophical or academic look at sustainability in business. This is a book from an author who both knows whom he is talking to and who speaks their language fluently.

In general, Global Sustainability is likelier to be useful to experienced, established businesses, especially large ones, than to small startups. Within large companies, this book should be considered required reading.
ANNA CALL (March 2, 2017)

From the Publisher