It’s hard to keep up with the many changes in environmental legislation, government incentives and climate change action today, so it would seem publishing a book on the subject could be a precarious undertaking. Good to Green, however, somehow succeeds - by offering valuable basics on how to create a "green" approach to managing your business, and by including valuable Canadian content you won’t find in many other texts today.

The name Good to Green is a play on the strategic management bestseller by Jim Collins, Good to Great. Collins describes five levels of leadership styles. To quote Collins, "Level 5 leaders want to see the company even more successful in the next generation, comfortable with the idea that most people won’t even know that the roots of that success trace back to their efforts: In contrast, the comparison leaders, concerned more with their own reputation for personal greatness, often failed to set the company up for success in the next generation."

The authors of Good to Green argue that adapting to the environmental imperatives of today isn’t a choice, but visionary leaders won’t go kicking and screaming - they’ll engage and be engaged by the challenges inherent in managing this.

Why is it so important now? The obvious answer is the incredible amount of legislative change occurring in the U.S. and Canada, as well as overseas, and the authors do a good job of outlining the many different developments in 2009 that will inevitably affect businesses in Canada — for instance, the Canadian Economic Action Plan (which includes $1 billion for a Green Infrastructure Fund, $351 million for Atomic Energy Canada Limited, $300 million for the EcoEnergy Retrofit Program, and funds for the development of carbon capture and storage).

The book offers nine guiding principles for greening your business:
1. Integrate the environment into all business decisions;
2. Seek the truth about environmental issues and products (both sides spread misinformation);
3. Eliminate waste in the product life cycle;
4. Treat stakeholders as you would like to be treated;
5. Eliminate use of hazardous chemicals;
6. Switch from high carbon energy sources;
7. Promote cultures of innovation;
8. Leverage new technology;
9. Don’t forget basic business principles.

The value of Good to Green is that it offers you the basics of a green business strategy in chapter one and then a number of targeted discussions throughout the rest of the book on the hot-button issues of today. Those issues include the introduction of environmental management systems; eco-design as just good design; green marketing; supply chain drivers; alternatives to petroleum; emissions trading; and managing human resources to nurture a culture of innovation.

Chapter one is a very good tool for understanding where there might currently be gaps in your green strategy. Chances are, even if you’ve never talked in corporate sustainability terms in your office before, there are certain things you are doing right already. Chapter one helps you understand how to determine what you’re doing right, what needs to be better researched, and how to get everyone on side - with a clear understanding of their responsibilities to improving the environmental footprint of the company.

Throughout the rest of the book, the authors do their best to offer a balanced view of different issues. For instance, the chapter on alternatives to petroleum gives both the benefits and challenges related to each technology that is currently touted as a solution to the issue of dwindling, and ever more expensive, oil reserves.

There are also very useful case studies - both Canadian and international - that offer perspectives on issues such as how to effectively market your product as a green product, and how to effectively manage your supply chain so that it operates in an environmentally responsible manner. This last issue is particularly challenging for many, but one that requires keen attention. Click here to read a short excerpt from that chapter.

I recommend this as a foundational tool and useful reference guide on greening your business. The landscape may be changing quickly, but having a good, basic guide for your journey across it never hurts.  

By John-David Phyper and Paul MacLean. Published by John Wiley & Sons, Canada, 2009. For more information visit www.wiley.ca.

< Prev		Next >