Sustainable Small Business Management

Based on years of research, consulting, teaching, and first hand experience working in sustainable businesses, Sustainable Small Business Management outlines a proven process to craft and implement a profit driven strategy for sustainability, targeted primarily at the substantial market of small to medium enterprises (SMEs). With SMEs now representing 50% of business revenue and employment in the United States, this book has been written to provide a practical and proven resource to guide the development and implementation of a profit driven strategy for sustainability by SMEs. The book defines the often interchangeably used terms sustainable business, triple bottom line, and socially responsible business. It traces the "values" driven emergence of sustainable business among niche consumer product companies, such as Stonyfield Farm and Patagonia, which eventually led to proving the viability of socially responsible business. More recently, large businesses, including Walmart and GE, have embraced environmental sustainability, compelled by the "value" driven cost savings and brand benefits. Building on this, the author outlines a process for developing and implementing a profit driven strategy for sustainability that is practical to implement and achieve by the majority of SMEs.