Preface ix

Acknowledgments xi

Part One Introduction 1

1 Why Every Business Needs an Eco-Strategy 3

2 How to Use This Book 17

Part Two Gear Up: What Leaders Need to Know 21

3 Building a Winning Eco-Advantage Strategy: Top 10 Action Items 23

4 Making the Internal Business Case for Going Greener 36

Part Three Analyze: Identify Your Eco-Risks and Opportunities 59

5 Spot the Eco-Issues that Could Impact Your Bottom Line 63

6 Assess and Measure Your Environmental Impacts 81

7 Benchmark Your Performance against Competitors and Best Practices 110

Part Four Strategize: How Each Business Function Can Benefit and Contribute 123

8 Office Activities 125

9 Buildings and Facilities 143

10 Information Technology 169

11 Product Design 190

12 Sourcing and Procurement 205

13 Manufacturing and Processing 221

14 Logistics and Transport 245

15 Marketing and Sales 268

16 Legal and Regulatory Affairs 287

17 Accounting and Finance 297

Part Five Mobilize: Execute and Engage 313

18 Create an Action Plan—and Execute 315

19 Build Your Climate Change Plan 328

20 Mobilize Employees and Build an Eco-Advantage Culture 340

21 Engaging Stakeholders 358

Part Six Optimize: Evaluate, Report, and Reassess 373

22 Communicate and Report Results 375

23 Celebrate Success and Promote Continuous Improvement 388

Notes 393

Index 429

BASED ON THE BESTSELLING BOOK GREEN TO GOLD BY DANIEL ESTY AND ANDREW WINSTON

Whether you are a climate-change skeptic or an ardent environmentalist, sustainability issues cannot be ignored in today’s corporate world. With rising energy and natural resource costs, intensified regulations, investor pressures, and a growing demand for environmentally friendly products, sustainability is no longer an option—it’s a business imperative.

Building on the bestselling book Green to Gold by Dan Esty and Andrew Winston, The Green to Gold Business Playbook tells how to put sustainability considerations into practice for competitive advantage. While Green to Gold explained whyevery business needs a sustainability strategy, the Playbook spells out how to achieve an Eco-Advantage. This concrete guide shows the way to sustainability for companies of any size in any industry.

Filled with essential tools and real-world examples, the Playbook gives job-specific advice that can be read selectively or from cover to cover. Whether you’re a CEO or a team leader, you’ll get step-by-step guidance on how to:

• Cut costs and increase profit margins by driving greater efficiencies in buildings and facilities, information technology, manufacturing, supply chain and logistics, and more
• Grow revenues by designing and marketing environmentally superior goods and services that meet your customers’ desires for energy efficiency, reduced pollution, and healthier products
• Build your brand and image by connecting with the values and rising expectations of consumers, employees, and other key stakeholders
• Identify and reduce regulatory risks across your value chain

Failing to stay on top of sustainability trends will hurt your company. But implementing an Eco-Advantage strategy could vault you into industry leadership with huge revenue gains and unmatched customer loyalty. The Green to Gold Business Playbook will tell you everything about the how of sustainability. The only question you’ll have left is when.

There are many books out there exhorting companies to reduce their environmental impacts, but very few that give detailed practical guidance. From product design to facilities management, from information technology to logistics and transport, this book contains insightful suggestions as to how businesses can be more sustainable, reduce carbon emissions, and yet at the same time save money and drive top line growth.
— Paul Polman, CEO, Unilever

Environmental performance has become an essential part of company strategy. Esty and Simmons provide a clear road map for how companies can turn this agenda into a competitive advantage.
—Michael Porter Bishop William Lawrence University Professor, Harvard Business School

The Green to Gold Business Playbook is a terrific practical roadmap to help companies reduce their environmental impact while also improving economic performance.
— Andrea Jung, CEO, Avon

We need smart corporate engagement for major environmental efforts to be successful. Here's the guide to realizing both environmental and bottom-line gains through eco-strategy.
— Mark Tercek, The Nature Conservancy

Economic gravity always wins – The Green to Gold Business Playbook reveals how simple economics can drive greener businesses.
— Vinod Khosla, Khosla Ventures

Business is what changes the world.  Esty and Simmons’ seasoned guidance is pure gold for 21st century entrepreneurs who know that sustainability comes out of a drive to innovate.
—Gary Hirshberg, CE-Yo of Stonyfield Farm

Leading companies are now embedding sustainability into every aspect of their business -- not as a PR exercise but as a core strategy to be a successful enterprise in the 21st Century. The Green to Gold Business Playbook is an invaluable resource.
— Muhtar Kent, Chairman and CEO, The Coca-Cola Company

The private sector’s decisions to design, source, and distribute products will in no small part determine the future of the world’s wildlife. The most progressive companies are looking ahead and charting a course for sustainability. Dan Esty and P.J. Simmons' book provides them with invaluable tools to move in that direction.
— Carter Roberts, World Wildlife Fund

Part of Waste Management’s strategy has been to gain an Eco-Advantage. This book picks up where Green to Gold left off with a really practical playbook for companies seeking to execute their own eco-strategies.
—Dave Steiner, CEO Waste Management