Category Archives: Book Reviews

Book Excerpt: The Nature of Business by Giles Hutchins

Image-front-cover_coverbookpageNature has already shown us the way to solve many human problems, from deciphering simple engineering puzzles to unlocking the mysteries of flight. In The Nature of Business, author Giles Hutchins makes a compelling case for applying the same principles of biomimicry to the development of a new business paradigm. He demonstrates clearly how behaviors and organizations found in nature can be applied to help companies flourish in chaotic and uncertain times.

Eclipsing current approaches to responsible and green business, Hutchins’ focus is on the emergence of new ways of operating and creating value in an increasingly volatile and interconnected world. He presents the challenges to the prevailing “business as usual” model, explains the pressing need for transformational change, and reveals the concepts and mindsets necessary to inspire the businesses of tomorrow, including:

  • Resilience
  • Optimization and adaptation
  • Systems integration
  • Values-based navigation and life-building activities.

Showcasing the pioneers of the new paradigm through a multitude of examples and case studies, The Nature of Businesspresents the tools and techniques required to effect the transformation to an organization fit for purpose, fit for the future, and inspired by nature.

More information about this book can be found by clicking –> HERE.  Below is an excerpt from the book. Continue reading

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The Top 10 Sustainability Books of 2012

sustainability_bookThe results are in!  The best Sustainability Books of 2012 (as voted by you)

1.  Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things

2.  Ecological Economics: An Introduction

3.  Prosperity without Growth: Economics for a Finite Planet

4.  Confessions of a Radical Industrialist: Profits, People, Purpose–Doing Business by Respecting the Earth

5.  Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution – and How It Can Renew America, Release 2.0

6.  Reinventing Fire: Bold Business Solutions for the New Energy Era

7.  The Transition Handbook: From Oil Dependency to Local Resilience (Transition Guides)

8.  When the Rivers Run Dry: Water–The Defining Crisis of the Twenty-first Century

9.  Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

10. Making Sustainability Work: Best Practices in Managing and Measuring Corporate Social, Environmental and Economic Impacts (Business)

Read more about the nominated titles by clicking on the link below:

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Vote for the best Sustainability Book of 2012

sustainability_book
It is that time of year – time to vote for your favorite book about sustainability for 2012.

Voting closes March 31st.  Rankings released on April 1st.

Help us spread the word on twitter – tweet this —->  Vote for your favorite book about #Sustainability of 2012 http://shar.es/jFb21 #green #csr #environment

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September Book Review: Brewing Change, Behind the Bean at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters

Written by Rick Peyser and Bill Mares, with foreword by Bob Stiller

Authors’ and publisher donations benefit Food 4 Farmers

SHELBURNE, Vt.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Rick Peyser, Green Mountain Coffee Roasters’ (GMCR) Director of Social Advocacy and Community Outreach, was swayed by running partner and co-author Bill Mares to tell the story of Peyser’s personal journey and quiet crusade to help change the world of coffee.

Their book, Brewing Change: Behind the Bean at Green Mountain Coffee Roasters
, is the inspiring result of those frequent runs and steady conversations. Brewing Change chronicles Peyser’s 24-year career with an insider’s view of GMCR, one of the largest specialty coffee companies and purchasers of certified Fair Trade coffee in the world. Brewing Change is part travelogue, part social commentary, and part motivating business model for building corporate social responsibility. Continue reading

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Top 10 Sustainability Books of 2011


  1. Green Project Management
  2. Cradle to Cradle
  3. Green to Gold
  4. Confessions of a Radical Industrialist
  5. Necessary Revolution
  6. Hot, Flat, and Crowded
  7. When the Rivers Run Dry
  8. Mid-Course Correction
  9. The Sustainability Revolution
  10. Energy Systems Engineering

 

The results are in!  These are the Top 10 Books on Sustainability for 2011 as voted by you.  Thanks to everyone who participated. Continue reading

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Top 20 Books on Sustainability

The results are in!  Click here to see the Top 10 Sustainability Books for 2011.

Here are the top sustainability books for 2010 as ranked by the blog readers of CaelusGreenRoom.

#1 – Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution–and How It Can Renew America (Thomas Friedman)

Thomas L. Friedman’s phenomenal number-one bestsellerThe World Is Flat has helped millions of readers to see the world in a new way. In his brilliant, essential new book, Friedman takes a fresh and provocative look at two of the biggest challenges we face today: America’s surprising loss of focus and national purpose since 9/11; and the global environmental crisis, which is affecting everything from food to fuel to forests. In this groundbreaking account of where we stand now, he shows us how the solutions to these two big problems are linked–how we can restore the world and revive America at the same time. Continue reading

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Steve Jobs biography by Walter Isaacson released today

Based on more than forty interviews with Jobs conducted over two years—as well as interviews with more than a hundred family members, friends, adversaries, competitors, and colleagues—Walter Isaacson has written a riveting story of the roller-coaster life and searingly intense personality of a creative entrepreneur whose passion for perfection and ferocious drive revolutionized six industries: personal computers, animated movies, music, phones, tablet computing, and digital publishing.

At a time when America is seeking ways to sustain its innovative edge, and when societies around the world are trying to build digital-age economies, Jobs stands as the ultimate icon of inventiveness and applied imagination. He knew that the best way to create value in the twenty-first century was to connect creativity with technology. He built a company where leaps of the imagination were combined with remarkable feats of engineering. Continue reading

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Book Review – Green to Gold (D Esty, A Winston)

Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage

Have you read this book?  Please share your thoughts below.

The essential guide for forward-thinking business leaders who see the Green Wave coming and want to profit from it. This book explores what every executive must know to manage the environmental challenges facing society and business. Based on the authors’ years of experience and hundreds of interviews with corporate leaders around the world, Green to Gold shows how companies generate lasting value, cutting costs, reducing risk, increasing revenues, and creating strong brands, by building environmental thinking into their business strategies.

Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston provide clear how-to advice and concrete examples from companies like BP, Toyota, IKEA, GE, and Nike that are achieving both environmental and business success. The authors show how these cutting-edge companies are establishing an “eco-advantage” in the marketplace as traditional elements of competitive differentiation fade in importance. Esty and Winston not only highlight successful strategies but also make plain what does not work by describing why environmental initiatives sometimes fail despite the best intentions. Continue reading

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