The Business of Less: The Role of Companies and Households on a Planet in Peril
By: Roland Geyer
“Paradigm-shattering. If you’ve ever wondered why our planet is in flames despite historic concern for the environment, Geyer’s book convincingly locates our problem in the broken logic of ‘win-win’ corporate sustainability. The book mercifully maps out a new path forward, too, called net-green, that’ll transform business and consumption.”
The Business of Less rewrites the book on business and the environment.
For the last thirty years, corporate sustainability was synonymous with the pursuit of ‘eco-efficiency’ and ‘win-win’ opportunities. The notion of ‘eco-efficiency’ gives us the illusion that we can achieve environmental sustainability without having to question the pursuit of never-ending economic growth. The ‘win-win’ paradigm is meant to assure us that companies can be protectors of the environment whilst also being profit maximizers. It is abundantly clear that the state of the natural environment has further degraded instead of improved. This book introduces a new paradigm designed to finally reconcile business and the environment. It is called ‘net green’, which means that in these times of ecological overshoot businesses need to reduce total environmental impact and not just improve the eco-efficiency of their products. The book also introduces and explains the four pollution prevention principles ‘again’, ‘different’, ‘less’, and ‘labor, not materials’. Together, ‘net green’ and the four pollution prevention principles provide a road map, for businesses and for every household, to a world in which human prosperity and a healthy environment are no longer at odds.
The Business of Less is full of anecdotes and examples. This brings its material to life and makes the book not only very accessible, but also hugely applicable for everyone who is worried about the fate of our planet and is looking for answers.
Praise for The Business of Less
“Accessible, incisive and timely. Geyer does away with the myth that ‘win-win’ will save us and sets out the foundations for a radical, and yet deeply pragmatic, business strategy for the 21st Century.”
“Roland Geyer’s book comes at a perilous time in human history. It shows clearly why we urgently need new paradigms for how a market economy should function on an increasingly fragile planet, but goes beyond that to show how we can find a sustainable future. It should be essential reading for anyone concerned for the future of the planet and the people who live on it.”
“This engaging book provides a clear and fact-based argument that current approaches to sustainability aren’t leading to environmental impact reductions. Although the message is sobering, the principles highlighted can correct our course. This book has arrived at the perfect time. It is the catalyst needed to ensure that, going forward, our sustainability efforts result in actual environmental improvement.”
“Born in the context of the Earth Summit in 1992, the modern corporate sustainability gospel had thirty years to prove itself, and it is abundantly clear that it has failed us. This important book explains why this was inevitable and offers alternative principles that are better equipped to reconcile our economy with planetary boundaries.”