Business and Sustainability

Description

Climate change, the resource constrained economy, and sustainability in general are amongst the hottest and most problematic topics for contemporary businesses. This book provides a comprehensive overview of how the world's sustainability challenges are affecting and being affected by business.

• Written specifically for both undergraduate and postgraduate students studying business and sustainability
• Provides an objective, comprehensive overview of different strands of thought
• Contains original analysis and examples of sustainability as it is practised and encountered by business, including guidance on how to use materials
• Each chapter offers a consistent, learning-oriented structure and includes snapshots of business, discussion points for use in class, end-of-chapter questions and assignments, key concepts, and case studies
• Provides a one-stop shop for students and lecturers working in this area at undergraduate and postgraduate levels

About the Author(s)

Michael Blowfield, Senior Research Fellow at the Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment, Oxford University; Teaching Fellow in Corporate Responsibility, London Business School; Visiting Professor, University of Middlesex Business School

Michael Blowfield is a Senior Research Fellow at the University of Oxford's Smith School of Enterprise and the Environment where he researches business transformation in an era of climate change and resource constrained economies. He is also a Teaching Fellow in Corporate Responsibility at the London Business School. He has worked as an academic and consultant in the field of corporate social and environmental responsibility with a particular focus on the socio-political context of corporate responsibility, and the role of business in society. Building on extensive experience in international development, including living and working in twenty different countries, he began a critical examination of corporate responsibility in global supply chains in the late 1990s. He was principal investigator and programme manager for a portfolio of government and corporate-funded projects that analyzed the field of corporate responsibility in the context of developing countries.

Table of Contents

SECTION ONE - THE GLOBAL CONTEXT
1:Business and Sustainability Overview
2:The Sustainability Challenges Confronting Business
3:Business in a Resource Constrained World
SECTION TWO - MANAGING SUSTAINABILITY
4:Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Change
5:Strategy and Execution
6:Innovation, Planning, and Design
7:Financing Sustainability
8:Cooperation, Collaboration, and Partnership
9:Next Generation Competencies
SECTION THREE - THE EXTERNAL ENVIRONMENT
10:Governance
11:Sustainable Consumption and Production
12:Looking to the Future
MAJOR CASE STUDIES

Reviews

This is an admirable piece of work that provides a good overview of the debate and critically examines how business can respond to sustainability challenges. It is well supported by both theory and case studies and is written in a clear and compelling manner. It will be an invaluable resource for students on our programmes, since the structure is well aligned with our curriculum. - Polly Courtice, LVO, Director, Cambridge Programme for Sustainability Leadership

Additional Resources

Online Resource Centre

For Students:
Links to web resources e.g. company sustainability initiatives, sustainability organisations

For Lecturers:
Teaching suggestions for the case studies
PowerPoint slides
Links to films, online video and other AV resources for use in the classroom, including summaries of their content and how they could be used
Electronic versions of figures and diagrams from the book