Green Recovery: Get Lean, Get Smart, and Emerge from the Downturn on Top

by Andrew S. Winston

When the economy turns rough, many companies sideline their green business initiatives. That's a big mistake. In Green Recovery, Andrew Winston shows that no company can afford to wait for the downturn to ease before going green.

Green initiatives ratchet up your company's resource efficiency, creativity, and employee motivation. They save energy, waste, and money, preserving precious capital-and give precise focus to your innovation efforts and strategic priorities.

Part manifesto and part how-to guide, this concise and engaging book provides a road map for using green initiatives to deliver short-term gains and position your company for long-term strategic growth. You'll discover how to:

-Get lean: Amp up your energy and resource efficiency to survive tough times

-Get smart: Use environmental data about products and supply chains for competitive advantage

-Get creative: Rejuvenate your innovation efforts by asking heretical questions such as "How might we operate with no fossil fuels?"

-Get going: Engage and excite employees to solve the company's, the customer's, and the world's environmental challenges


Green Recovery is your guide to establishing your competitive positioning in difficult times and emerging even stronger into a vastly changed economy.

Genres: Nonfiction

208 pages, Hardcover

First published July 29, 2009

Reviews

[Marc Buckley · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an easy, nice, and important read. The book offers practical advice for companies, encouraging them to rally their people to get creative in solving environmental challenges and to lead the way to a more sustainable and profitable future. I had an interesting conversation with Andrew on my podcast Inside Ideas, where we discussed this book, his other books, and the upcoming book that he writes together with Paul Polman.
You can listen to the video podcast here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xQeC1...

Or check out the link below:

https://www.innovatorsmag.com/profit-...
https://medium.com/inside-ideas/andre...

[Dimitar Peykov · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is an easy read providing concise ideas how to justify, encourage, and manage green efforts. It also provides specific examples of successes in different industries and types of companies from big multinationals to small brands dedicated to sustainability as a way of doing business.

[Rogue Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

In the midst of the 2008 downturn, Winston holds that companies that make green investments will win out. Not sure that that was the case, but a good review of how corporations can streamline processes, save energy and retain a workforce.

[GoldenjoyBazyll · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read the report put out by the Harvard Buisness Review which is available in digital format. The book is not out as of yet- or so it said. I like the approach of looking at how we can eliminate waste and work smarter to save money during this economic downturn. If there are ways to save money by needing less dumpster pick ups and using copy machines less I am all for it. I was astounded by the money saved by national companies just by instituting simple policies such as for UPS not driving faster that 62 miles an hour or leaving trucks idling for long periods of time which saves on gas.

We all know these things but maybe have gotten too comfortable in our excesses. Now that many peoples jobs depend on our companies saving every cent- these simple tacticts that many of us had our parents chasing us over (turn off the lights when you are not in a room!) are becomming a life line once again.

Interesting read.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informed guide to the commercial value of going green

Climate change and sustainability are tremendous challenges for businesses. Inflexible firms will find the future difficult as the prices increase for oil and other scarce resource. Therefore, nimble, visionary firms are adjusting to new environmental realities. Sustainability expert Andrew S. Winston explains why going “lean and green” can be the best move a business can make, in good times and bad. He details how firms can implement green initiatives to survive and thrive in today’s new economic and environmental climate. getAbstract recommends Winston’s book to executives and managers who want to learn how going green can improve their strategies, business models, and profits.

[Alec's Always Bored · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some of it is likely outdated, as it was published in 2009. However, it makes a good argument for companies to embrace a green economy and green production line, and the concepts and arguments are solid. A good easy to read beginners guide to the concept of green industries, environmentally friendly updates and green production lines. I learned about the concept of a circular economy as opposed to just a straight one, and a concept I never heard of before I read this book. A solid informational read.

[Gary Castaldo · Rating 4 out of 5]

Over all I think this was a good book but it wasn’t as good as Green to Gold. It’s feels more like a update to Green to Gold, not a full book.