Foundations of Sustainable Business

Book excerpt: Foundations of Sustainable Business is designed to introduce future business leaders to the most important social and environmental issues of our generation. From the perspectives of a business thought-leader and a public interest policy expert, the text provides a comprehensive, balanced introduction to sustainable business that integrates sustainable policies into all core business functions, including leadership, finance, accounting, risk management, marketing, supply chain management, and operations. Presenting sustainability as a strategic priority for all aspects of business, the text clearly defines all key concepts and shows how social, economic, and environmental trends are interconnected and relevant to corporate strategy. While the text provides an honest look at climate change, human trafficking, and environmental issues such as water shortage and ecosystem health, all normative guidance is based on traditional business value propositions, taking into account cost, risk, strategy, marketing potential, and operational feasibility. Additionally, the text offers a variety of pedagogical tools in each chapter to provide an engaging, qualitative-based learning process. Each chapter ends with original cases with focused questions that test comprehension of concepts. With in-chapter discussion questions, illustrative diagrams, ethical dilemmas, managerial insights, links to fascinating TED Talk videos, and on-point Harvard Business Review cases, Foundations of Sustainable Business is user-friendly for instructors and accessible to students.