by Shane Henson — May 21, 2012—Berrett-Koehler, an independent publisher offering books that provide unconventional solutions to contemporary problems, has released a new title, Street Smart Sustainability: The Entrepreneur’s Guide to Profitably Greening Your Organization’s DNA, which it says is the first book to show small and medium-sized companies how to go green not just cost effectively, but profitably. Co-published with Social Venture Network, a nonprofit membership organization of socially responsible business organizations, it is ideal for building owners and facilities managers who have the desire to make their buildings more environmentally friendly and sustainable, but just need the know-how.
Written by David Mager and Joe Sibilia, Street Smart Sustainability delivers detailed, nuts-and-bolts, step-by-step advice. Read cover to cover, this is a comprehensive A to Z handbook, but each chapter also works as a self-contained stand-alone guide to a specific business function. So, if readers need to, they can go right to whichever chapter speaks to their needs at the moment, say the authors.
Mager and Sibilia begin by discussing how to get employee buy-in to and motivate one’s company into becoming sustainable. Then they cover how to get started—auditing one’s current sustainability position, developing a plan to move forward, and quantitatively measuring progress.
With a plan and metrics in place, Mager and Sibilia move on to the particulars. They detail how to design products to be sustainable from the get-go, green one’s facilities, use renewable energy, minimize one’s carbon footprint, find green vendors to work with, reduce harmful emissions, and recycle waste products.
The book is also filled with real-world examples from a variety of businesses and industries. The emphasis is always on practicality—besides seasoned advice, Mager and Sibilia provide a wide range of tools people can use immediately to implement their suggestions.