Amazon Reviews
10 of 12 people found the following review to be helpful:
A Guide to the Implementation of Sustainability Principles, January 31, 2008
By Felipe Perez
Making Sustainability work does a significant contribution for practitioners on how to put sustainability principles and ideas into practice. We have seen in the past other important contributions about sustainability. The difference regarding this new book is in putting these ideas in a very explicit way; emphasizing on the challenges of integrating sustainability into the business strategy and in the decision-making that encompasses the implementation of successful strategies at the firm level.
The book goes further giving valuable guidelines in practical methodologies on how to measure social and environmental risks and impacts and in the implementation of systems inside the firms for permanently monitoring such impacts. This has been a weakness in some of the literature we have seen in the past. Making Sustainability Work addresses the necessary evaluation of the impacts of sustainability initiatives on the financial performance to correctly assess the convenience of implementing them in terms of the benefits to both, the firm and the stakeholders. Finally, we have in a very amenable reading style, an important guide for practitioners on how to put sustainability principles into practice.
9 of 11 people found the following review to be helpful:
oil companies and "sustainable" ?, January 28, 2008
By W Boudville
Epstein's book is definitely well meaning. Directed mostly towards the field of corporate social responsibility. Attentive readers may also recall a recent Economist magazine that had its central pages devoted to this theme.
The book has numerous quotes from CEOs of large, prominent organisations, espousing how they pursue sustainable goals. Some of these include Shell and BP. Sure, the commitment is laudable. But these oil companies have been facing a shrinking in their proven oil reserves for years. If you regard sustainability in the context of this industry as maintaining or increasing reserves, then the situation is growing parlous, no matter what nice words the bosses say. Granted, the oil companies are spending billions of dollars each year in exploration and extraction. However, a cynic can question the inclusion of these companies in the book's survey.
2 of 3 people found the following review to be helpful:
One sided text with numerous inaccuracies, September 13, 2009
By P. Elliott
I purchased the text as a guide for developing corporate sustainability guidelines. I found the author to be inaccurate in a number of places and his view of the business world is puerile. Obviously he is an academic with no real world experience beyond any benchmarking he has done in large companies.
For instance, page 107: "Given some of the characteristics of SMEs [small and medium enterprises] this approach to capital investment decisions is not surprising. Indeed, factors such as lack of financial expertise, short-term vision and shortage of capital partly explain their chosen approach." In fact many small companies are extremely well funded and run by CEOs and CFOs from large enterprises looking for a faster pace in a small enterprise. His assertions are equally absurd in many other parts of the book. The text makes assertions about accounting systems, with no apparent knowledge of GAAP, FASB, SOX or tax laws, tells the readers how GAAP "distorts" financial reporting.
With as many inaccuracies, lack of any real business knowledge, and the hostile or slanted view of business realities, I would not recommend this book to anybody who intends to us it as a serious guide to corporate sustainability.
2 of 3 people found the following review to be helpful:
Important to read for both the Manager and the Management Academic, February 11, 2008
By W. Smith
Whereas others have argued for why corporations must attend to social issues, Epstein helps us understand how. Epstein provides in-depth, thoughtful analysis that integrates the relevant research in the field about how to more effectively manage corporate social responsibility. He grounds this analysis in extensive examples of companies actively grappling with these issues. In doing so, he provides a manual for both academics and practitioners to understand what we know today about how to manage corporate social responsibility , and provides a set of questions for the issues that we must grapple with tomorrow. This book is a must read for anyone who cares about the success of companies and who cares about the future of our communities and our planet.
2 of 3 people found the following review to be helpful:
A master plan for managing sustainably, February 7, 2008
By W. Birchard
If you want a single book on how to make your company sustainable, this is the book for you. Epstein distills the latest and greatest thinking into a sensible and comprehensive program for delivering environmental, social, and financial excellence. You don't need to look further for a guide to retool the machinery of your organization to create value for all stakeholders. Epstein is a renowned expert in the field of managing for sustainable performance. It's amazing how many insights and examples he fits into this easy-to-ready book. A great contribution to the field.
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