Practical Sustainability Strategies: How to Gain a Competitive Advantage

by Nikos Avlonas, George P. Nassos

"Strategies for Implementing Sustainable Development in Businesses" provides more than ten sustainable strategies and tools that can be implemented by organizations to improve their competitive business advantage, while also providing a positive impact to the community and workplace. This vital book for R&D chemists and engineers and process designers provides economic justification of sustainability with examples. Case studies based on the authors' vast experience with many leading companies illustrate each sustainable strategy.

328 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Nikos Avlonas is founder and President of the Centre for Sustainability & Excellence (CSE) a global Sustainability Strategic advisory and Training organization based in Chicago, Brussels and Athens active in more than 25 countries. Nikos has been distinguished as one of the “Top 100 Thought Leaders in Trustworthy Business Behavior” by Trust Across America, an organization dedicated to promoting trustworthy business behavior in 2010.He is a well known international speaker in topics related to Sustainable Development and CSR and has delivered speeches and educated professionals in North America ,Europe, Middle East and Asia.

Nikos specializes in Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility & Governance, Business Ethics and Performance Management strategies. During the last 15 years he has carried out numerous projects in leading organizations, including Fortune Global 500 Companies, such as BP, Nestle, Heineken Group, Blackberry, ΑΒΜ, Mc Cain, DHL, Lafarge, Deutsche Post, HSBC, DIFC, the European Investment Bank ,Government of Dubai and the Lloyds Banking Group. Additionally he has extensive international experience in Executive training & coaching having trained over 5,000 managers worldwide.

He was founder and Co-Chair of the Chicago Chamber of Commerce Sustainability Strategy Committee. He is advisory council member of SERF (Society of Environmentally Responsible buildings) Green Building guidelines in US and one of the founders and Vice President of the Corporate Responsibility Institute since 2007, a non for profit organization for CSR performance evaluation and benchmarking (based on the Business in the Community Index-BITC). Additionally he is Board member in the Green Meetings Industry Council (GMIC) in Chicago. In the past he was Scientific Advisor to the European Foundation for Quality Management (EFQM), based in Brussels, in the field of Business Excellence and Corporate Social Responsibility and he has project leader for the development of a CSR Framework and relevant tools supported by the UN Global Compact and applied to thousands of companies globally.

Nikos is currently program advisor to University of Chicago Graham School, Leadership in Sustainability Certificate program. He was since 2000, a Part -Time Professor at the American College Of Greece (Deree College) lecturing on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), Total Quality Management and Supply Chain Management. Additionally he has lectured at a variety of Universities including the Kellogg School of Management (Chicago) and Sheffield Hallam University (U.K).

He has contributed as chairman and advising member in the organization and coordination of workshops and international conferences on a variety of business topics. He is co-author of the books ‘’Practical Sustainability Strategies ‘’ published by Wiley in 2014 and ‘’Management Models for the future’’ published in 2009 analyzing the topic of Responsible Competiveness. He has published numerous articles & surveys in international and local magazines/ newspapers on issues related to Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility & Governance, Climate Change, Business Excellence and he has given many interviews relevant to the above issues to international Media including CNBC, CCTV(China Central TV),Voice of America and many others.