INSEAD Library

Includes bibliographical references and index

Digitized

The Next Sustainability Wave Building Boardroom Buy-In Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ................................................................................... vii LIST OF EXPERTS INTERVIEWED .................................................... viii Forword ................................................................................................................... xi CHAPTER I : INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 1 Setting the Stage ................................................................................ 3 Early Thoughts on Inhibiters ............................................................ 5 Who Is in the Next Sustainability Wave? ......................................... 7 The Sustainability "Tipping Point" ................................................... 9 The Squeeze on Boards ................................................................... 11 A Sustainability Sales Call ............................................................. 13 The Terminology Swamp................................................................. 15 Sustainability Stages ....................................................................... 27 Drivers of Sustainability: Overview............................................... 33 How Would You Know a Leading Sustainability Company If You Saw One? ...............................................................................37 Driver #1: Founder's Personal Passion .......................................... 47 Driver #2: Public Relations Crisis ................................................. 57 Driver #3: Regulatory Pressure ...................................................... 65 CHAPTER 2: THREE DRIVERS OF THE FIRST WAVE ....................... 35 CHAPTER 3: FIRST EMERGING DRIVER -- A PERFECT STORM OF THREATS ......................................................................................... 87 A "Perfect Storm" of Market Forces ............................................... 89 Mega-Issues + Demanding Stakeholders » Business Risks ......... 91 Mega-Issues ..................................................................................... 93 Demanding Stakeholders .............................................................. 107 Rising Expectations ....................................................................... 119 Rising Expectations » Business Risks ......................................... 125 Transforming Mega-Issues into Mega-Opportunities ................ 127 CHAPTER 4: SECOND EMERGING DRIVER -- COMPELLING BUSINESS VALUE ............................................... 129 Sustainability Lens on a Balanced Scorecard ............................. 131 By-Product of Good Business Management ............................... 133 Seven Bottom-Line Benefits ........................................................ 135 The Seven Benefits Revisited ...................................................... 137 Overall Recent Studies .................................................................. 153 Share-Price Correlations ............................................................... 155 Tailored Totals Talk ...................................................................... 157 The Catch ........................................................................................ 159 Ethical Objections to a Business Case Rationale ...................... 161 CHAPTER 5: OBJECTION-HANDLING CLINIC ON INHIBITERS TO THE NEXT WAVE .................................................................. 163 Inhibiter #1: Lack of Support from Senior Leaders .................. 165 Inhibiter #2: Fear of Backlash ..................................................... 181 Inhibiter #3: Weak Business Case ............................................... 195 Inhibiter #4: Mindset ..................................................................... 209 Changing Worldviews Is Tough .................................................. 225 What Color Would You Like? ..................................................... 227 CHAPTER 6: CONCLUSION .............................................................. 229 Positioning the Drivers ................................................................. 231 The Climate Change Lightning Rod ............................................233 Getting the Word Out ....................................................................243 Five Signs that Sustainability's Tipping Point Is Close ............ 255 It's About Innovation, Productivity, and Competitive Advantage ......................................................... 267 Leaders, Followers, and Laggards ...............................................269 APPENDIX: S M E -RELEVANT BUSINESS CASE ........................... 271 How SMEs Are Different ............................................................. 273 Sustainability Drivers for SMEs .................................................. 275 Sample Company -- SME Ltd. .................................................... 281 An SME-Relevant Business Case ................................................ 283 Similar and Different Benefits .....................................................285 Food for Thought on Engaging SMEs in Sustainability ........... 301 ENDNOTES ......................................................................................... 303 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................. 335 Books about Deterioration of Environment and Society .......... Books about Corporate Contributions to Environmental and Social Problems ............................................................... Books about Stage 4 and Stage 5 Companies ............................ Books about Benefits of Moving from Stage 3 to Stage 4 . ..... 336 338 340 341 INDEX .................................................................................................. 343 ABOUT THE AUTHOR.........................................................................353