CSR: The Holy Grail

With all the hype about "jobs vs. the environment" and "profits vs. corporate social responsibility," business leaders and citizens are understandably skeptical that there could possibly be a compelling financial business case for corporate social and environmental responsibility. Can the business benefits of sustainability initiatives be not only identified but also quantified and expressed in business language as bottom-line benefits relevant to the short- and long-term priorities of senior executives? This is the Holy Grail of many concerned corporate leaders and citizens -- how a company can realistically "do well while doing good."

The Sustainability Advantage of the Triple Bottom Line Approach

The "hard cash" benefits of pursuing a strategy of sustainability are real and quantifiable. In The Sustainability Advantage, Bob Willard uses his 34 years of business experience at IBM to examine seven benefits of the triple bottom line approach: easier hiring of the best talent, higher retention of top talent, greater employee productivity, reduced expenses in manufacturing, reduced expenses at commercial sites, increased revenue / market share, and reduced risk, making for easier financing. Willard makes a compelling case to show that ignoring such benefits is simply not good business. He demonstrates the real cost savings of a triple bottom line strategy for a hypothetical company and shows that this company could realize a 38% increase in profits. The book includes a foreword co-authored

by John Elkington of SustainAbility and an appendix containing full Sustainability Advantage Worksheets, which are also available in digital form on-line from the publisher at
www.newsociety.com

Bob Willard Bio

During his 34-year IBM career, Bob Willard held leadership positions in marketing, technical support, education, and human resources, including 20 years in management. Between 1990 and 2000, Bob led leadership development for IBM's 2,000 managers and executives in Canada. He retired from IBM in 2000 and now works full time on writing and on his doctoral studies at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education (OISE) at the University of Toronto where he is conducting further research on his personal passion for ways to positively engage corporations in sustainability business strategies. His next book, written in conjunction with his forthcoming doctoral thesis, will be on why some companies are committed to sustainability, why others are not, and how to overcome senior management resistance to making that commitment.

Contact Information

Book orders:  www.newsociety.com