Product Description

The Triple Bottom Line is the groundbreaking book that charts the rise of sustainability within the business world and shows how and why financial success increasingly goes hand in hand with social and environmental achievement. Andrew Savitz chronicles both the real problems that companies face and the innovative solutions that can come from sustainability. His is a hard-line approach to bottom-line fundamentals that is re-making companies around the globe.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #21922 in Books
• Published on: 2006-08-11
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 320 pages

Review
Andrew Savitz recalls a conversation he had with a purchasing manager at a large telecommunications company. The man was adamant that social responsibility had nothing to do with his job, which was to buy products at the lowest price.

"Would you buy from a foreign supplier that you knew was employing 10-year-old girls and paying them 60 cents a day for their labour?" Savitz asked.

"Of course I wouldn't do that," came the reply.

"Not even if the supplier offered the lowest price, if child labour was legal in that country and if no one could possibly find out?"

"No," the manager replied. "It would not be right."

"Do you think your company would support your decision to sacrifice profit in this case?" Savitz persisted.

"Absolutely, I'm certain of it," the manager said.

Do not be deterred by the unfortunate title of this forthcoming book. In just 250 pages, rich in anecdotes, Savitz makes a lively and cogent case that no company or manager can afford any longer to ignore the world around them. Many of the reasons companies face "the age of accountability" are familiar, but it is useful to see them pulled together: our shared sense of vulnerability, fostered by climate change and natural disasters, coupled with the awesome power that global corporations have accumulated; the goldfish bowl in which companies operate; their increased exposure through networks of business partners and global supply chains; the campaigns mounted by lawyers, non-governmental organisations and shareholder activists.

But this book is not a tract admonishing business to take its responsibilities seriously. Its central argument is an upbeat one that is gaining currency: it makes financial sense for companies to anticipate and respond to society's emerging demands. In the long run, says Savitz, the sustainable company is likely to be highly profitable.

There is a flipside: companies that fail to respond, or thumb their noses at society, are likely to pay the price.

What is a sustainable company?

Savitz and Karl Weber, his co-author, spend time on their definitions-a sensible move given the confusion and spin that often surround this debate. Sustainability is not about philanthropy, which has nothing to do with the company's main purpose. Nor is it merely about ethics. The authors even prefer "sustainability" to "responsibility", arguing that the latter emphasises benefits to society rather than benefits to the company.

For Savitz, who created the environmental practice at PwC and has worked with some of America's biggest companies, it is about conducting business in a way that benefits employees, customers, business partners, communities and shareholders at the same time. It is "the art of doing business in an interdependent world". The best-run companies find "sustainability sweet spots"-areas where shareholders' long-term interests overlap with those of society. Implausible? Look at General Electric, with its revenue-boosting Ecomagination green technology, says Savitz. Or Toyota's fuel-efficient Prius. Or Unilever's Project Shakti in India, training 13,000 women to distribute its products to rural customers and thereby greatly increasing families' income while expanding its market penetration. Every company can find a sweet spot, he suggests, even if it is the minimal one of cutting costs by reducing energy use, employee accidents or the chances of a lawsuit-though some of this could just as well be called smart risk management.

In the second half of the book, he explains how to translate all this into "business as usual": how to decide what it means for the company; how to work with stakeholders, not against them; how to set enforceable goals in difficult areas such as child labour. Throughout, the arguments are driven by pragmatism, not dewy-eyed altruism. The narrative occasionally suffers from its American slant. The English Quakers, after all, pioneered decent working and community practices long before Henry Ford.

Even if you do not agree with it all, this is a thoughtful guide for managers who still harbour doubts about the point of sustainability, who are taking tentative steps towards it or who are seeking a clearer path through the maze. With luck, it should also help the anoraks in the sustainability industry to distinguish the wood from the trees.

-Financial Times, July 5, 2006

"…excellent new book… a compelling case for change." (The Marketer, January 2007)

"Important issues, well presented, that deserve a wide audience" (Long Range Planning, July 2007)

Review
“Required Reading” -Fortune Magazine

“Savitz makes a lively and cogent case that no company or manager can afford any longer to ignore the world around them.”- Financial Times

“Perhaps the best, most comprehensive book to date on corporate sustainability”-Social Funds

"Whether you are a corporate manager, investor, consumer, or  public official, this book will change your view of how corporations can succeed for themselves and for society. Savitz combines vision and practical advice in an elegant presentation."
—George Stephanopoulos, chief Washington correspondent, ABC News; anchor, This Week with George Stephanopoulos

"Informative, persuasive, and practical, containing valuable advice for anyone seeking a more responsible and profitable approach to business."
—Steve Reinemund, chairman and chief executive officer,
PepsiCo

"The main challenge of sustainability is how to take it from concept to action. Andy Savitz communicates in plain language what sustainability is and how everyone in the organization can help achieve it."
—Charles O. Holliday, Jr., chairman and chief executive officer, DuPont

"An engaging mix of powerful ideas and practical advice. Values matter and Savitz shows how profitability and responsibility can and must go hand in hand."
—Michael Morris, chairman, president, and chief executive officer, American Electric Power

"At long last a plain English, action-oriented guide to business sustainability illustrated with practical examples from world-class companies."
—Richard Cavanagh, president, The Conference Board, Inc.

"Andy Savitz gets it. He also happens to be witty, sensible, and a good writer as well as a good business strategist—sort of a modern Ben Franklin. That makes this book a joy to read as well as indispensable for businessmen who wish to succeed in this new age."
—Walter Isaacson, president and chief executive officer, Aspen Institute; former chairman and author, Benjamin Franklin: An American Life

"A bold and readable foray into this complex subject. Readers will come away enlightened."
—Kert Davies, research director, Greenpeace US

"Some circumstantial evidence is very strong,' Savitz and Weber recall Thoreau saying, 'as when you find a trout in the milk.' The flood tide of corporations they profile provides powerful evidence that the triple bottom line is going mainstream."
—John Elkington, founder and chief entrepreneur, SustainAbility

"A timely contribution to why big corporations engage in sustainable
development and how managers can implement it in their companies."
—Bjorn Stigson, president, World Business Council for Sustainable Development

"Must-reading for any corporate manager or investor seeking the ‘sweet spot’ where financial and stakeholder interests meet. It provides powerful arguments, cogent analysis, great stories, and dozens of real-world insights into how companies are enhancing profits through sustainability strategies."
—Mindy Lubber, executive director, CERES; former regional administrator, United States Environmental Protection Agency

"Savitz and Weber’s The Triple Bottom Line offers a perspective that is already influencing the wisest and most socially responsive corporations in the world.  This well-written, insightful, and practical book will guide executives for decades to come."
—Max Bazerman, Jesse Isador Straus Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

"Amidst the proliferating number of books on corporate sustainability topics, Savitz's The Triple Bottom Line is a refreshing relief. Its accessible style, jargon-free language, and thematic organization avoids the tendency toward cheerleading and case study overdose characteristic of the field.  Savitz speaks with clarity, authority, and good humor."
—Allen White, senior fellow, Tellus Institute; cofounder, Global Reporting Initiative

"The Triple Bottom Line is full of practical advice based on Savitz's hands- on experience working with corporate managers.  This book is a very readable guide for those who want to build a successful and sustainable business for the twenty-first century."
—Arnold S. Hiatt, former chairman and CEO, the Stride Rite Corporation 

"Most executives have a superficial or misguided understanding of sustainability. The Triple Bottom Line should be required reading for business leaders who seek to enrich their shareholders, society, and themselves."
—Scott Cohen, editor and publisher, Compliance Week

"Responsible leadership ensures that what we have today will be around for future generations. This book shows us both what it takes to lead responsibly and what happens when people fail to do so. An insightful book for those who seek how they can personally make a difference."
—Samuel DiPiazza, global chief executive officer, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP

"Andy Savitz puts sustainability in a clear, practical framework supported with real business examples."
—Travis Engen, former president and chief executive officer, Alcan, Inc.; chair, Prince of Wales’ International Business Leaders Forum; chairman, World Business Council for Sustainable Development

“Lots of books instruct executives on the latest secrets to management success. But this one offers hands-on tips for how managers can turn corporate social responsibility into profit. Savitz. . .seeds practical advice amid compelling real-life corporate stories.” -Global Proxy Watch

From the Inside Flap
Your company's sweet spot is where its financial interests coincide with social and environmental interests.

It is called sustainability, and Fortune 100 companies like DuPont, PepsiCo, and Toyota are beginning to see it as the most transformative business concept in years. Responding to growing pressure from regulators, environmentalists, and socially concerned shareholders, these and other firms are charting solutions that will reap environmental and social rewards along with financial ones. Companies that defy the principles of sustainability find themselves suffering significant setbacks to their business objectives.

The Triple Bottom Line is the groundbreaking book that charts the rise of sustainability within the business world and shows how and why financial success increasingly goes hand in hand with social and environmental achievement. Andrew Savitz chronicles both the real problems that companies face and the innovative solutions that can come from sustainability. His is a hard-line approach to bottom-line fundamentals that is re-making companies around the globe.

Savitz identifies and explains this new management concept in plain language and with good humor, showing leaders in organizations of all sizes and industries exactly how they can benefit. He provides memorable stories and simple rules of the road to help you find your company's sweet spot. In the end, he shows that sustainability is a fundamental approach to management that lets businesses protect and grow the resources they need to succeed.

Customer Reviews

Still a good introduction to the subject.
The publisher is correct about this being a groundbreaking book when it was published. It is still excellent and many companies have a long ways to go to be operating to the triple bottom line (economic, social and environmental). Useful for either learning the goal businesses and organizations need to strive for or as a beginning how-to manual on beginning that journey.

Great guide to adjusting your company's direction
I work for a small government agency, so a lot of the production and marketing discussion doesn't apply to us. That being said, this book really makes you think, not just about how your business can be more socially and environmentally responsible, but about the practices of the companies whose products you purchase every day. A good place to start for a company that is serious about taking a hard look at their impact on the world around them.

the triple bottom line
If you're truly interested in sustainability do not purchase this book. At best it appears to be intended for use by business and PR peope looking to increase their vocabulary in respect to the subject. At worst it will only add to the confusion, cynicsm and fatigue that results from the perception that sustainability is simply the next management tool. The introduction is very promising but the research and passion for the subject are simply not present. The authors claim that the failure of genetically modified foods to win acceptance was because it got a bad rap in the media. This seems a half hearted attempt at disinformation. It ignores the fact that they have been banned in Europe because they are the very definition of what is not sustainable and contribute directly to the demise of locally grown crops that are being systematically eliminated by companies like Monsanto. The wheels fall off in the chapter on accountability. The authors vain attempt to lequate the robber barons with corporate responsibility fails completely to link past business practices with sustainable practices. The ridiculous assertion that corporate responsibility was extended to worker's rights in the '30s and '40's represents the worst kind of reactionary ahistoricism. This continues with the authors description of laissez-faire capitalism over communism. There was nothing laissez-faire about the Marshall plan or any of government's sonsorship of capitalism during the cold war. The authors spin out of control when they claim that the media is so decentalized as not to allow corporations to control their messages. I'm sure the authors are aware of how few media companies control nearly all media outlets. In the end I had to assume this was simply a puff piece for corporations like Pepsi-Co and DuPont both of whom praise the book on the jacket and are mentioned in the text. DuPont gets extra points for trying not to blow up too many of its employees. If you're interested in hiring a former regulator to advise your company on skirting environmental issues, then buy his book. If not, read Cradle to Cradle for a responsible and nuanced approach to how sustainability is the new entrepreneurship, fueled by actual innovation not the latest gimmick. The only only good part of this purchase was the super savings shipping.