The Sustainable Business Handbook - by David Grayson & Chris Coulter & Mark Lee (Paperback)

About the Book

Make your business more sustainable, and therefore more innovative and profitable, with this practical guide filled with case studies and 'top tips'.

Book Synopsis

The case for business sustainability has already been made; organizations can no longer ignore the issue when climate change affects supply chains and customer expectations require them to take action. It has also been proven that businesses operating sustainably drive innovation, build brand value and are more profitable.

It is therefore time to shift the conversation from the 'why' of business sustainability to the 'how'. The Sustainable Business Handbook is a practical 'how-to' guide which aims to demystify jargon and provide practical tools and tips for busy managers. Rather than preaching the importance of sustainability, it cuts straight to how businesses can become more resilient and successful in the long term by becoming more sustainable.

This indispensable book is based around twenty top tips for transforming your business and is interspersed with a range of individual profiles and case studies of organizations successfully embracing sustainability. With guidance on defining your organizational purpose, engaging stakeholders and creating the right culture, The Sustainable Business Handbook outlines how to shift Corporate Responsibility from being a bolt-on to business operations to being a source of innovation and new business, as well as societal good.

Review Quotes

"The Sustainable Business Handbook is required reading for executives who are looking to better understand and respond to one of the most important issues facing business today, sustainability (or ESG)."-- "Siddharth Sharma, Group Chief Sustainability Officer - Tata Sons, India"

"As a global brand, McDonald's relies heavily on our suppliers across the world to embed sustainability, in order for us to achieve our ambitious goals. This handbook is a highly practical manual to help our suppliers and tens of thousands of other companies like them become better businesses."-- "Francesca DeBiase, Executive Vice President, Chief Global Supply Chain Officer at McDonald's"

"Business leaders are facing an unprecedented shift in expectations from their stakeholders to embrace ESG. The Sustainable Business Handbook provides practical measures for companies of all sizes and from all geographies to respond to these expectations and become better businesses through the integration of sustainability."-- "Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive of Anglo American"

"Climate change, the loss of nature and rising inequality represent the biggest crises facing business today, while sustainability and purpose have become mainstream levers of performance. That is why addressing them effectively have become key determinants of business success. And yet few companies know where to start. How do you put principles into practice. This comprehensive, step-by-step guide has the answers, skillfully navigating business through the big questions of our time."-- "Alan Jope, CEO of Unilever plc"

"David, Chris and Mark invite readers to suggest content for the second edition of this handbook. My hope is that dynamic businesses across Africa will use this handbook and thus make sure that we have many more examples from Africa in that second edition!"-- "Dr Ndidi Nnoli-Edozien, Chair Circular Economy Innovation Partnership (CEIP) Africa and Chair Afrikairos"

"Family businesses have a particularly strong sense of stewardship and desire to be a force for good. For those family businesses who are young or just starting to more consciously realise their social impact, this book is a very practical, easy-to-use guide that can help companies turn those aspirations into action."-- "Sir James Wates CBE, Chairman of Wates Group and Chair of the Institute of Family Business"

"For the corporate manager who is tasked with bringing sustainability to their company, this handbook provides a wealth of useful advice on everything from assessing ESG materiality to building a culture of sustainability. The authors' experience with executing sustainability strategies provides readers with very practical ways to position their company to manage ESG risks and explore related business opportunities."-- "Tensie Whelan, Clinical Professor of Business and Society, Director of NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, USA"

"It is clear that we need many more companies ramping up their sustainability efforts in the coming years if we are going to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The Sustainable Business Handbook provides a perfectly timed and well thought through roadmap for companies beginning their sustainability journey."-- "Dr Mark Watson - Group Head of Sustainability at John Swire & Sons (H.K.) Ltd, Hong Kong"

"It is critical to build bridges connecting well intentioned commitments to make change happen with the actions needed to make these changes real. Practical handbooks like this - with a focus on the tools and real life stories of both strategies that work and those that don't - are precious to people who are harnessing the power of business as a force for good."-- "Charmian Love, CoFounder of B Lab UK"

"Sustainability is an important value-driver for all businesses. For those executives running companies that have yet to embrace sustainability, I highly recommend you read this book as it is an actionable primer to get your company up to speed on this critical business imperative."-- "Frank Ravndal, CEO, HAVI"

"Sustainability is not a luxury but a must to all businesses. Large firms are changing, and small ones need to catch up quickly in order to survive and grow.?The Sustainable Business Handbook comes at a perfect time!"-- "Dr. GUO Peiyuan, Co-Founder and General Manager of SynTao Co., Ltd, Beijing"

"Sustainability is now mission critical. David, Chris and Mark deliver a timely and pragmatic guide to help organizations move from intent to action. We welcome this roadmap to accelerate the sustainability agenda and usher a new era of stakeholder capitalism."-- "Sarah Galloway, Co-leader Global Sustainability Sector for Russell Reynolds Associates"

"There is a growing wave of companies everywhere needing to begin their sustainability journeys and the Sustainable Business Handbook is a critical tool to help them do it effectively."-- "Feroz Koor - Group Head of Sustainability - Woolworths, South Africa"

"This book with three authors on three continents adopts a practical and international approach to the over familiar, but poorly understood topic of sustainability. It addresses all the roadblocks that hinder companies from taking the steps they need to ensure their own and our planet's survival. It starts with purpose of a company - why is it in business and who is it here to serve. Dig deeply into this and from there it is plain sailing."-- "Katie Hill, Executive Director B Lab Europe (B Lab is the not for profit behind the B Corp movement)"

"This is the book for anyone who wants to turn their interest in being a responsible business into tangible action. The books is packed with practical advice and proven case studies which together constitute a 'how-to' guide for any responsible business leader."-- "Ben Fletcher, Group CFO of the Very Group"

"This is the practical "how to" of sustainability that so many businesses urgently need. Drawing on years of practical, hands-on experience, the authors demystify the language of sustainability and provide plain-language guidance for action - now. This book is great news for any leader of any small or medium-sized business looking for the "how to do it" of sustainability. In clear, simple and above all business-focused language the authors have provided a much-needed tool that will enable a more sustainable, resilient and, yes, profitable future."-- "Rob Cameron, Global Head of Public Affairs at Nestlé SA"

About the Author

David Grayson CBE is Emeritus Professor of Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield School of Management, based in London, UK. From 2007-17 he was Professor and Director of the Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility at Cranfield. He is the chair of the Institute of Business Ethics and has worked with responsible business coalitions across the world.

Chris Coulter is CEO of GlobeScan, an insights and strategy firm that helps organizations build the trust they need to create value for themselves and society, and is based in Toronto, Canada. He is the Chair of Canadian Business for Social Responsibility (CBSR) and is a member of the Multinational Subcommittee of B Lab's Standards Advisory Council and Walgreen's Corporate Responsibility Advisory Board.

Mark Lee is the Director of the Sustainability Institute by ERM, which launched in 2020 to define, accelerate and scale sustainability performance by developing actionable insight for business. He is also an ERM Partner and sits on the Advisory Board of Sustainable Brands and the Senior Advisory Board of the Centre for Responsible Business at the Haas Business School at UC Berkeley. He is based in California.