Canadian Association for the Study of Adult Education (CASAE) newsletter

Bob Willard "The Next Sustainability Wave: Building Boardroom Buy-In"
New Society Pubs., 2005.
By MARGARET FISHER

It is a pleasure and privilege to review a book by a colleague and member of CASAE. Hot off the press this spring comes Bob Willard's second book, The Next Sustainability Wave. Only a couple of years ago, his first book came out, "The Sustainability Advantage: Seven Business Case Benefits of a Triple Bottom Line" (New Society Pubs., 2002) — now in its second printing. In it Bob demonstrated how businesses can profit from strategies that incorporate environmental and social concerns along with financial gain. In fact ignoring social and environmental factors can result in increasing risks and costs; it is simply not good business.

In this second book Bob takes his ideas further by analyzing why companies resist sustainability practices and focusing on strategies for persuading leaders to do more. This ground-breaking book is about how to engage corporate leaders positively in conversations about sustainability for the benefit of the company, the environment, and society. The ideas are based on the author's experience working within the corporate world, extensive reading and research, and interviews with 43 sustainability experts including consultants, corporate leaders, NGO representatives, and academics.

The introductory chapter sets the stage and provides background information about rapidly shifting attitudes in society and within corporations. Sustainability is becoming increasingly synonymous with high performance.

Chapter 2 describes three drivers of the first wave companies that have already established themselves as leaders in sustainability: founders' personal passion, public relations crisis, and regulatory pressures.

Chapters 3 and 4 offer two further drivers which are surfacing for the next wave of companies getting aboard: market forces (such as green consumers, activist shareholders, NGOs, governments, and the financial sector) and a compelling business case. Five mega-issues of climate change, pollution and its effect on health, the globalization backlash, energy crunch, and erosion of trust in institutions can be viewed as threats or as opportunities. Threatening market forces may increase business risk and also move more corporations into increasing sustainability.

Chapter 5 outlines 26 objections commonly raised to adopting a more aggressive environmental and social agenda. Each objection is countered with an example of a possible response which is realistic, positive, and engaging.

Chapter 6 revisits climate change as a foundational driver for change and offers five signs that indicate increasing momentum for companies incorporating sustainability as a legitimate business concern. The appendix focuses on issues of sustainability related to small and medium-sized organizations.
 
I am very impressed with the book's style and organization. The language is crisp, conversational, and brief. Metaphors and images relevant to the business world bring abstract concepts and statistics into sharp focus. On each right-hand page there is a key topic or point with a bold heading while the left-hand pages contain quotes from experts interviewed, case studies, cartoons, and charts that expand on the theme across on the right page. Busy executives may pick and choose key points by skimming through the right-hand pages only. Those wanting further elaboration can refer to left-hand pages.

The bibliography is also helpfully arranged into four themes: books about deterioration of the environment and society, books about corporate contributions to environmental and social problems, books about companies that have incorporated sustainability considerations into strategic business decisions, and books about why and how companies should undertake the transformation into greater sustainability.

In his introduction the author identifies his primary audience as 'sustainability champions and chief executive officers, followed closely by those people working with them on sustainability issues — board members, senior executive colleagues, nongovernmental organization (NGO) representatives, sustainability consultants, policy makers, and academics.' To this list I would add adult educators. The book is aimed at 'anyone who wants to learn how to engage senior leaders of more companies in sustainability initiatives.'

Since Bob's first book appeared, I have recommended it to students in my graduate courses in adult education. Their response has been excitement and inspiration from reading about best current thinking on important business concerns. This sequel will take them further as they discover practical strategies for taking up the challenge of moving their workplaces toward greater social and environmental responsibility.

And speaking of students, the material of this book has another incarnation as the author's doctoral thesis which he has recently successfully defended at OISE/UT. He indeed knows how to combine multiple drivers for successful ends! Congratulations, Bob!

Reviewed by Margaret Fisher, Ed.D., who teaches in the Department of Adult Education and Counselling Psychology at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education.