Amazon Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review to be helpful:
Save the environment...and money, December 29, 2001
By Roger E. Herman
From time to time, business leaders have invested time, energy, attention, and financial resources in the respected work of environmental protection. The work from the corporate sector has not been consistent, appreciated, or encouraged. Through this book, the author hopes to stimulate more organizations to be actively supportive of the environment-and good business practices. A Certified Management Consultant with significant personal engagement with corporate environmental issues, Pamela Gordon profiles the work of twenty employers to show what can be done.
Many authors gather profiling information for books like this by researching on the internet, magazine articles, other books, and industry reports. To her credit, Gordon personally visited 16 of the companies cited, with the other four being visited by people from her firm. This direct involvement adds a higher degree of authenticity to her work and this book.
Lean and Green is organized into three sections. Part One presents four steps for creating a lean and green organization: Question Wasteful Practices, Gain Lean and Green Endorsement Using Business Language, Collaborate to Achieve Lean and Green Goals, and Track Progress for Environment and Profit. Interwoven through these introductory chapters are stories about how the 20 profiled employers have applied these approaches. The organizations are mostly large, well-known companies, and a city government, but the principles can be applied in smaller organizations, as well.
The second section of the book presents Real-Life Examples of Putting Lean and Green into Practice. Ten chapters lay out the how-to of building a higher consciousness and effectiveness of environmental practices. Again, Gordon uses examples and experiences of her profiled companies and their people to illustrate and emphasize her points.
The third part of the book, How to Make the Most Difference, is best reported to you by listing the powerful chapter headings: How to Become an Environmental Leader in Your Organization, Work with Your Organizational Culture to Support Change, Be an Environmental Activist Using Tactics That Benefit Business, and The Fastest Route to Lean and Green. Quotes are used to open each chapter, as many authors do. To focus even more strongly on the dedication and focus of her profiled corporate activists, Gordon quotes people from the companies rather than outside sources. Each chapter ends with a valuable summary of the chapter, entitled "Making it Easy."
This book will smooth the way for its intended audiences: employees, managers, top leaders, and observers of organization that have great potential to make a difference. As I read the book, I found myself already becoming more aware of opportunities in my own surroundings to make a difference. If you're interested in protecting the environment and your company's bottom line, this book will open your eyes and give you tools for success.
3 of 3 people found the following review to be helpful:
Useful at the level to which it is pitched, February 24, 2003
By Bill Godfrey
The core theme is that, if you reduce waste and increase recycling, it will be good for the environment and for profits. The theme is supported with a wealth of examples. This is a book for those who are 'putting a toe in the water' rather than for those who wish to move beyond the first steps, but is useful at the level to which it is pitched. It helps to contest the pernicious myth that business profitability and environmental responsibility are at odds with each other.
1 of 1 people found the following review to be helpful:
Should Be Mandatory Reading For All Manufacturing Executives, September 17, 2001
By Scott Robert
This well-researched and thoughtful work is a very readable and practical guide proving that integrating environmentally-friendly processes and procedures in manufacturing operations is not only necessary for code compliance and corporate public relations, but can also improve companies' financial performance. Ms. Gordon provides real world examples showing how some of the world's largest and best-known companies have taken profitable steps toward improving our environment while at the same time improving their bottom line.
0 of 0 people found the following review to be helpful:
Greener Practices that Actually CUT Costs, January 1, 2009
By Shel Horowitz
Next time your boss tells you "we can't afford to be environmentally sensitive," you'll be fully prepared to rebut that claim if you've read "Lean and Green: Profit for Your Workplace and the Environment."
This well-written strategy manual for people in major corporations shows how companies like IBM, Louisiana Pacific, Polaroid, and even the city of Santa Monica, California have become much more profitable through environmental responsibility. While most of the savings are smaller, some instances have saved as much as $100,000,000--by rethinking as well as redesigning. The payback periods ranged from a few months to several years, but all of them were ROI-driven decisions that were good for both the environment and the P&L statement.
Shel Horowitz's award-winning sixth book, Principled Profit: Marketing That Puts People First, demonstrates how to build a business around ethics, environmental sustainability, and cooperative practices--and how to develop marketing that highlights those advantages.
0 of 0 people found the following review to be helpful:
Practical hands on book, June 13, 2006
By Technocrat
This book is unlike many how to business books out there. It actually gives you the steps to implement it. Whether or not the earth is warming, it makes sense for everyone to do their part to show their respect to our home. Buy the book. Save the earth.
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