Down to Earth: Applying Business Principles to Environmental Management

Anxiety about the environment is on the rise for today's businesses. Firms large and small are feeling increased pressure from government regulations, environmental organizations, and community groups to ensure that business practices respect our natural resources. According to Forest Reinhardt, executives should stop delegating these issues to scientific or social experts, and instead seize the opportunity to use environmental strategies as part of their business planning-in ways that can increase profits for the bottom line. In Down to Earth, Reinhardt helps managers find ways to accommodate demands for environmental performance and deliver superior returns to their shareholders.

According to Reinhardt, responsible and realistic solutions to environmental problems are surprisingly accessible. Down to Earth explains how executives can take familiar business principles of strategy, finance, and marketing and use them to improve their management of environmental problems. Colorful examples from businesses as diverse as Patagonia, Xerox, and Monsanto show how leading companies use this commonsense approach to turn environmental concerns into powerful competitive advantages.

The first book to offer a practical, reality-based view of the relationship between the environment and business practice, Down to Earth will help executives take advantage of the valuable opportunities for linking their environmental strategies with shareholder value.

Forest Reinhardt is an associate professor at Harvard Business School.