Suzanne Farver - Pathways to Success

Copyright 2019 by Suzanne Farver

ISBN-13: 978-1-60427-171-3

Printed and bound in the U.S.A. Printed on acid-free paper.

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This book is dedicated to sustainability professionals around the world who have demonstrated that you can do well by doing good. The late Ray Anderson lived by this mottoand we have to thank him for his leadership. To those industry leaders who have pushed their competitors to improve their business practices and to move policies into more positive and responsible directions for this planetwe are indebted to you. Thank you to all who have been brave enough to show us the wayand to the believers who support them.

This is a companion book to Mainstreaming Corporate Sustainability: Using Proven Tools to Promote Business Success, which is a basic introduction to incorporating environmental and social responsibility into the management and strategy for a successful and profitable corporation.

Each chapter of this book coordinates with the chapters of the textbook, providing cases for different companies on each subjectfrom stakeholder engagement to supply chain management and reporting. Ive chosen exemplary companies for each subject to help the reader better understand the concepts and see how it has successfully been applied by an actual operating corporation.

Each chapter has a broad overview of the case company, followed by suggested extra resources regarding the subject and how to find more information about the companys current reporting and performance. The information changes from year to year, so Ive tried to keep the references general enough to provide access to whats happening on the ground when you read this book.

Companies change and grow over time, and their leadership direction for sustainability can change too. Not all companies perform well in all areas of sustainability, and youll find that each of the companies here has challenges in one area or another. That is part of what makes sustainability such a tough field, and it is always a work in progress. There are forever new targets and new challenges.

The purpose of this book and the parent textbook is to provide a solid overview of the resources available to todays business leaders. Who are some of the leading voices in this field? What tools have they used, and what do they have to offer? What are some of the toughest challenges? How do you begin this journey for your own company? How do you avoid being overwhelmed by the volume of material offered on the subject?

Although there are still many new ideas and approaches being developed, the basic topics have become well established in the field of sustainability. Seeing how these principles have been applied in the industry can help you to see how they can be used for your own company or organization. The end of each chapter includes suggestions for further reading to help you dig more deeply into particular areas of interest.

This book is the culmination of the efforts of many years of preparation, and without the help and support of my family and friends, it would not have come to fruition.

I have had many mentors along the way, but there are a few in particular who have stood out and supported this work. Amory Lovins at the Rocky Mountain Institute remains a visionary and exemplar in so many ways. His thirst for knowledge, attention to detail, and expansive respect for nature and human-kind are an inspiration to all. His humor and kindness are without match.

To my co-instructor Matt Gardner, thank you for many years of collaboration in our class at Harvard Extension School. And to Zeina Eyceoz, thank you for taking on my responsibilities in the class beginning in 2017, allowing me to finish this book and to move on to new responsibilities at Presidio Graduate School.

To my colleagues at Presidio Graduate School, I am indebted for your leadership and camaraderie. We have been through many educational challenges together, and I thank you for your support as we have found new pathways for our school to thrive. Special thanks to Dariush Rafinejad, our provost, who has brought our curriculum to new heights; to Donna LaSala, our talented and exuberant MPA faculty leader; to Eric Cetnarski, who has been an undaunted leader of our staff while I served as interim president; and to Mary Kay Chess, former dean at our Seattle campus, who provides leadership, love, and support to so many. You have all propped me up when I needed it, and I am eternally grateful. I couldnt have completed this book without your great work helping to manage our school.

To all of you on this journey, thank you for your fellowship and solidarity. We have an enormous responsibility to care for this earth and to leave it a better place for our childrens children and beyond.

Suzanne Farver, ALM, JD, has spent her career leading organizations toward more responsible management and has a strong track record of building consensus and emulating vision. She holds a BA in economics from Grinnell College (Phi Beta Kappa), a JD from the University of Denver, and an ALM in environmental management from Harvard University Extension School (class marshal).

Her educational work includes teaching Corporate Sustainability Strategy at Harvard University Extension School, a course she helped develop in the fall of 2010. In 2013, she published the first edition of Mainstreaming Corporate Sustainability: Using Proven Tools to Promote Business Success, which serves as a textbook for the Harvard class and other universities across the globe. The book helps business administrators promote profitable strategies to incorporate social and environmental solutions into their firms strategic plans.

Suzannes nonprofit management includes serving as finance chair for the Rocky Mountain Institute (RMI) board during its merger with the Carbon War Room and hiring of a new executive director, Jules Kortenhorst. During that time, RMI tripled in size and impact, and continues now as a leading organization helping the business community to drive energy savings and reduce carbon emissions worldwide.