Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World
Zachary Karabell and Aron Cramer
November 15, 2010
4:30 p.m. - 6:00 p.m.
Santa Monica
 |
 |
| Zachary Karabell |
Aron Cramer |
The Great Recession could have put the brakes on the global march toward sustainability. Instead, it only proved sustainability's necessity, Aron Cramer and Zachary Karabell argue in their new book, "Sustainable Excellence: The Future of Business in a Fast-Changing World."
At various times in 2008-2009, the prices of core materials like oil, wheat and iron soared; supplies of food, water and energy declined; and debate raged over whether commodities like corn should be used for food or fuel. Businesses could have seen it as just the recession at work. Instead, many saw it as a preview of the future.
"All this convinced the C-suite that resource inefficiencies are a material risk to their businesses today, and will be even more so tomorrow," Cramer wrote recently on the Business for Social Responsibility blog. "To outlast the Great Recessions, companies have to improve resource efficiency to position themselves for success."
Many big companies are already on the sustainability bandwagon. In "Sustainable Excellence," the authors tell how:
Coca-Cola and Greenpeace collaborated on a refrigerator that fights climate change.
Best Buy and Nike are transforming how they make their products to generate less waste.
GE and Google created an innovative partnership that is developing "smart grids" to radically reduce energy use.
Starbucks founder and CEO Howard Schultz put sustainable excellence at the center of Starbucks' business strategy.
At this Milken Institute Forum, the authors discussed how sustainability is good not only for the environment but also the bottom line, and how it will define both business success and economic vitality in the 21st century.
Zachary Karabell, a fellow at the Milken Institute, is President of River Twice Research, where he analyzes economic and political trends. He is also a senior adviser for Business for Social Responsibility, a money manager and a CNBC contributor. Karabell, who was named a "Global Leader for Tomorrow" by the World Economic Forum, is the author of 10 books, including "Superfusion: How China and America Became One Economy and Why the World's Prosperity Depends on It."
Aron Cramer is president and CEO of Business for Social Responsibility, advising senior leaders at BSR's 250 member companies and other global businesses on how to integrate corporate social responsibility into business strategies, practices and stakeholder engagement. Since he assumed the helm in 2004, the organization its staff and significantly expanded its global presence, with offices in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Cramer is also co-editor of "Raising the Bar: Creating Value with the United Nations Global Compact." Previously, he practiced law in San Francisco and worked as a journalist at ABC News in New York.
|
 |
