Over the next few weeks I will be depositing my first impressions on Sustainable Value: How the World’s Leading Companies Are Doing Well by Doing Good by Chris Laszlo. This book is divided into three sections, the first section is described by Laszlo as a “fable” about a woman who rose to the top oblivious to the impact her organization was having on her stakeholders. As her divisions profitability, and prestige in its industry grew, so did their environmental impact, and social justice problems. All the while, NGO’s were growing in objection to her firms practices until one day while on vacation in a national park she came accross someone who had similar problems. Then she “saw the light”. The rest of the section details in vague detail the steps she and the leadership of her division took to institue Sustainable Value practices and how those SV practices boosted the bottom line and consumer sentiment.
I understand that this is fiction, but to me, it was a bit heavy handed in one direction. I can appreciate the direction that the organization went, but Laszlo seems to only recognize the science that proves man-made climate change, and underestimates the difficulty of instituting SV policies in a profitable way. It was almost magical in the way the main character went from “environmental meanie” to “SV heroine”. In a way it reminded me of A Christmas Carol.
What I appreciated about this section is that it showed how it is possible to be profitable and take care of all stakeholders in an environmentally sound, socialy just way. It takes a lot of hard work and serious innovation, but it is possible. SV is a viable business model.
