1st Edition

Consulting for Business Sustainability

Edited By Chris Galea Copyright 2009

    The fast-emerging sustainability consulting firms are nipping at the heels of the established consultancy giants who are scrambling to find their way in the emergent field of sustainability. The upstarts are challenging many of the established notions of how to add value to their clients' operations. By looking at the business world through what the sustainability expert Stuart Hart calls "new sustainability lenses", sustainability consultants are able to make sense of challenges that are baffling their clients. Moreover, they are also beginning to help their clients uncover new and sustainable value streams, the ultimate goal of good consulting practice.  In Consulting for Business Sustainability sustainability consultants from around the world offer some of their perspectives and lessons on how to truly create sustainable value for their clients. Packed with new tools, advice and approaches, the book comprises a unique collection of wisdom from some of the leading lights in sustainability consulting practice. The areas covered include: developing best-in-class environmental management systems; sustainable design; supporting organisational change agents; working with key stakeholders; social impact assessments; human rights; and regulatory risk.  The book will be essential reading for practitioners in business searching for advice and toolkits on how to make their sustainability initiatives bear fruit, for consultants looking for advice on how others have provided value to clients, and for students of sustainability looking for best-practice examples and exploring future careers in this burgeoning field.

    Introduction Chris Galea, Nova Scotia, Canada  1. CSR consultancies in the United Kingdom Jennifer MacCarthy, EIRIS, UK, and Jeremy Moon, Nottingham University Business School, UK  2. Supporting the change agents: keeping ourselves effective on the journey of change Penny Walker, Independent Consultant, London, UK  3. The Stakeholder Dashboard Robert Strand, University of Minnesota Carlson School of Management, USA  4. Strategic sustainability consulting Brent Couper, Julian Crawford and Carole Young, EcoSTEPS, Australia  5. Human rights informing social impact assessments: the end of assessing social impact with one eye shut Sune Skadegaard Thorsen, Troels Børrild and Kamilla Vejergang Lembcke, GLOBAL CSR, Denmark  6. Profitable environmental management: a best practice approach from consultancy in international cooperation Edith Kürzinger, ProSEMa – Profitable, Socially and Environmentally Sound Management, Germany, and Joyce Miller, CAPRESE – Capacity Building Resource Exchange, Switzerland  7. The Meta-trend Stakeholder Profile: the changing profile of stakeholders in a climate- and water-stressed world Barb Brown and Margie Flynn, Principals and Co-owners, BrownFlynn  8. The Meta-trend Stakeholder Profile: impacts on the real estate development industry Barb Brown and Margie Flynn, Principals and Co-owners, BrownFlynn  9. The Meta-trend Stakeholder Profile: impacts on the mining industry Barb Brown and Margie Flynn, Principals and Co-owners, BrownFlynn  10. The Meta-trend Stakeholder Profile: impacts on the finance and banking industry Barb Brown and Margie Flynn, Principals and Co-owners, BrownFlynn  11. Achieving sustainable value: Sustainability Portfolio Assessment Richmond Graham, SaskEnergy, Canada, and Stephanie Bertels, University of Michigan, USA  12. A guide to sustainable design consulting Steve Belletire, Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA  13. Consulting for sustainability: creating a new organisational narrative Guy J. Vaccaro, PolyBrite International, Inc., Illinois, USA  14. Regulatory risk: challenges and opportunities for sustainability consultants Tom Cooper, Memorial University, Canada

    Biography

    Chris Galea