Reviewed by Kathryn Cooper

Five thousand days - this is how much time Joel Makower says that we have to transform "business as usual" into a dramatically new green economy. That’s 13 years.  And if you read Makower’s new book, Strategies for the Green Economy: Opportunities and challenges in the new world of business, you will realize if you didn’t start your green production and marketing initiatives 13 years ago, you just might be frantically playing catch-up when the "tipping point" comes. These things take time.

In this book, Makower takes us on a winding journey of trial, error and triumph with companies tackling the green marketplace. He cites examples from numerous companies including Stonyfield Farm, Timberland, Patagonia, Coca-Cola, Clorox and GM (the latter two companies he notes are clients).

But the many green misses and near misses discussed are not evidence that green strategies don’t work; they are often lessons in adjustment. Makower provides the reader with insights into the drivers of the green economy and addresses the fickleness of "self reported" green consumers; the question of "how green" is good enough; and elements of green marketing and production strategies.

It is not that he has all the answers. On numerous occasions he readily admits that the issues are complex and the solutions are not straightforward. He demonstrates that good green solutions are often too expensive; there is a mismatch between green consumer intent and behaviour; and that activist NGOs often drive green corporate initiatives underground in a process called "green muting." Makower quotes MacDonald’s CEO Bob Langert: ":I think that many companies are reluctant to talk about their environmental efforts because they are concerned they will be met only with criticism."  Examples throughout the book support this sentiment.

At times, the book really seems more about green marketing than creating an authentic strategy to go green. The former is fraught with issues of credibility, including green washing, decisions around whether to start new green lines or greening up your entire product line, green scorecards and deciding how green is green enough.  

It isn’t until the last section of the book, "How Good is Sufficient," that Makower addresses the heart of the matter. Here he explains that it is not enough for business ":to be seen as an authentic and effective environmental leader but also to actually effect authentic change in our environment."  He catalogues the reasons that businesses must pursue green strategies; not surprisingly, catastrophic devastation from climate change and its related risks top the list. These risks include: regulatory, supply chain, product and technology, litigation, reputation and physical risks.

He then goes on to reveal for us a series of perspectives on local economies, sustainable consumption and environmental justice - each a paradox for business.

Unfortunately, Makower stops short of summarizing the key elements of a good greening strategy in this section. Although these lessons are peppered throughout the first four sections of the book, at no point does he try to weave a set of interrelated principles on which readers might evaluate or launch their own green strategies. It almost seems that the complex and interrelated nature of a greener approach even defeats him.

Makower ends the book as he starts it - confirming for readers that this green movement is not a trend or a fad, but an enduring business issue for decades to come.  It is a green economy on the verge of reaching a tipping point; whether companies are ready to be part of it or not.  

For 20 years, Joel Makower has recorded the evolution of the green movement in corporate America through books, his blog (Two Steps Forward - http://makower.typepad.com/joel_makower), and countless speeches. He has authored more than a dozen books, including The Green Consumer and The E-factor: The Bottom-Line Approach to Environmentally Responsible Business.

Strategies for the green economy: opportunities and challenges in the new world of business. By Joel Makower, with exclusive market research by Cara Pike. McGraw-Hill: New York. 290p

http://www.makower.com/book.html

Kathryn Cooper is Sustainability Practitioner, EcoHorizon, and Researcher on Manufacturing and Sustainability at York University.

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