Apr 13 2010
Two Perspectives on Sustainability
I finished reading Adam Werbach’s “Strategy for Sustainability” a couple of months ago. As with many other books about developing sustainability strategies (e.g. “Green to Gold” by Andrew Winston and Daniel Esty or “The Next Sustainability Wave” by Bob Willard), this one introduces Werbach’s framework for crafting a corporate sustainability strategy. It includes his concept of “North Star” goals and the TEN cycle (transparency, engagement and network). While these feel like just another framework in the sea of frameworks, Werbach’s book does contain some nuggets. The best among these are his thought-provoking discussion of “nature’s rules of sustainability” and the stories he tells about such incidents as the McDonald’s chicken nugget connection with Amazon rainforests. It’s a quick and easy read (though there was shockingly poor proofreading by Harvard Business Press).
By contrast, “Limits to Growth: The 30-Year Update” by Donella and Dennis Meadows and Jorgen Randers, is chock full of interesting trend statistics about our limited natural resources and how we are using them. The text is heavily footnoted (something I value greatly!) and has the capacity to shock you with data. The authors describe their “World3″ computer model that simulates 9 different economic, social and environmental scenarios. In an homage to the late Donella “Dana” Meadows’ notorious optimism, the text ultimately provides the reader with a sense of hopefulness.
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