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Eco-Efficiency
Book

Eco-Efficiency

The Business Link to Sustainable Development

MIT Press, 2000 more...


Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Innovative

Recommendation

Their environmental passion is heartfelt, but the authors of Eco-Efficiency: The Business Link to Sustainable Development are no tree huggers. Livio D. DeSimone is chairman and chief executive officer of 3M and Frank Popoff is chairman of Dow Chemical. The co-authors’ status as corporate titans lends credibility to their positions. The planet’s fragile ecology is in danger of being destroyed by its inhabitants and large corporations bear much of the responsibility for saving the environment, they write. This isn’t a screed, though. Rather, it’s a reasoned guide to making your company more profitable and more environmentally friendly at the same time. The "eco" in their favorite buzzword, eco-efficiency, refers to both economics and the ecology. By examining their processes, companies can reduce waste that’s costly financially and ecologically, they argue. Due to its measured, balanced analysis of the relationship between business and the environment, getAbstract strongly recommends this book to all executives and students, especially those who have a real concern for the environment, but find themselves frustrated at the strident tone of many environmentalists.

Take-Aways

  • Large corporations bear much of the responsibility for saving the environment.
  • Eco-efficiency refers to business practices that are both economically and ecologically sound.
  • Sustainable development means meeting current needs while preserving resources for future generations.

About the Authors

Livio D. DeSimone is chairman and chief executive officer of 3M. Frank Popoff is chairman of Dow Chemical Co. They collaborated on this book with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, an organization that is an advocate on behalf of business for environmental issues.