Greetings,

I'm once again scratching my head trying to find a book for my sustainability class. I want the book (or 2 books) to do 3 things:

1) A list of problems attributed to climate change -- Lester Brown's 2011 "World on the Edge" does that (falling water tables, eroding soil, food scarcity, environmental refugees, failing states), but it's outdated. David Wallace-Wells new book "The Uninhabitable Earth" updates info to 2018, but the second half of the book is not practical. I was hoping Bill McKibben's latest "Falter" would do this, but it doesn't in any logical manner.

2) Progress being made in terms of solar energy and other renewables, restoring/supporting nature, new agriculture efforts, etc.

3) Things managers can do to make organization eco-friendly -- Esty & Simmons 2011"The Green to Gold Business Playbook" does that, but it's outdated.

Is such a book available? There must be. I'd be happy to settle for one book that does (1) and (2) above, and another book that does (3) above. It can even be a book of readings, though one author voice is preferred.

Thanks,
Denis Collins

Greetings,

I'm once again scratching my head trying to find a book for my sustainability class. I want the book (or 2 books) to do 3 things:

1) A list of problems attributed to climate change -- Lester Brown's 2011 "World on the Edge" does that (falling water tables, eroding soil, food scarcity, environmental refugees, failing states), but it's outdated. David Wallace-Wells new book "The Uninhabitable Earth" updates info to 2018, but the second half of the book is not practical. I was hoping Bill McKibben's latest "Falter" would do this, but it doesn't in any logical manner.

2) Progress being made in terms of solar energy and other renewables, restoring/supporting nature, new agriculture efforts, etc.

3) Things managers can do to make organization eco-friendly -- Esty & Simmons 2011"The Green to Gold Business Playbook" does that, but it's outdated.

Is such a book available? There must be. I'd be happy to settle for one book that does (1) and (2) above, and another book that does (3) above. It can even be a book of readings, though one author voice is preferred.

Thanks,
Denis Collins

Greetings,

I'm once again scratching my head trying to find a book for my sustainability class. I want the book (or 2 books) to do 3 things:

1) A list of problems attributed to climate change -- Lester Brown's 2011 "World on the Edge" does that (falling water tables, eroding soil, food scarcity, environmental refugees, failing states), but it's outdated. David Wallace-Wells new book "The Uninhabitable Earth" updates info to 2018, but the second half of the book is not practical. I was hoping Bill McKibben's latest "Falter" would do this, but it doesn't in any logical manner.

2) Progress being made in terms of solar energy and other renewables, restoring/supporting nature, new agriculture efforts, etc.

3) Things managers can do to make organization eco-friendly -- Esty & Simmons 2011"The Green to Gold Business Playbook" does that, but it's outdated.

Is such a book available? There must be. I'd be happy to settle for one book that does (1) and (2) above, and another book that does (3) above. It can even be a book of readings, though one author voice is preferred.

Thanks,
Denis Collins

Denis,

I think most of us struggle with this challenge-how to create a single-course package about the role of business in environmental sustainability in the Anthropocene.  Great suggestions by prior posters.  Not sure I can solve your immediate problem, but perhaps can suggest a menu of resources to browse.  The more interdisciplinary your student class composition, the better.

1   Business Solutions to Climate Change:  https://www.drawdown.org/   No need to cover all solutions, perhaps just the top 10 below which cover your interest in renewables.  One of my classes was tasked with a unique challenge related to #3 – viable products and business models for insect-based protein production in collaboration with biology faculty and students.  The cricket-flour brownies were great although the fried scorpions didn't go down so well (pun intended)!  

#1 in Drawdown table relates to the unsustainable material world we create which leads to my #2:

2. Product Rematerialization – Moving Towards a Sustainable Circular Economy: For my new venture students, the biggest product design challenge was applying the tools and disciplinary knowledge required by biomimicry, but it is very hands-on process which provided them a focus for their research efforts and often required them to visit science & design faculty on campus:  https://biomimicry.org/    https://asknature.org/   There was a Biomimicry PDW coordinated at 2017 Academy conference by Dr. Nancy Landrum, Professor of Sustainable Business Management, Loyola University Chicago.  The workshop was co-lead by Dr, Ashok Goel of Georgia Tech's Center for Biologically Inspired Design.   I think a key approach to adopt for purpose of achieving an environmentally sustainable economy (circular) is product materials chemistry using only elements used in biological world and with minimal use of other elements. 
3. Corporate/Industry Footprinting – The Environmental Impact of Global Supply Chains - Journal of Industrial Ecology Special Issue on Footprinting:  https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/toc/15309290/2014/18/1 GIS mapping, materials flows, and ecological databases, and an application to endangered species:  https://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-016-0023   Currently have undergraduate biology/operations management student team working on project related to ecological footprint of Tesla lithium-ion battery production. 
4. Incentive & Governance Systems: Tragedy of the Commons – Fishbanks board game still is simple, yet engaging classroom example of this ongoing dilemma but now can be done online:  https://mitsloan.mit.edu/LearningEdge/simulations/fishbanks/Pages/fish-banks.aspx Some interesting environmental and social simulations/events have also been developed by Center for System Solutions in Warsaw, Poland, but I have not had a chance to use them:  https://socialsimulations.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/Social-Simulations_by-Centre-for-Systems-Solutions_Catalogue_2018.pdf  One interesting project we had was working with NCSU design faculty and students with hybrid board & app-based game "Nuclear Spring,"  Aside from the game itself, is great exercise for students to imagine how they would rebuild civilization and biosphere after a catastrophic event.  Still in alpha, ECO sim holds future promise along these lines:   https://www.strangeloopgames.com/eco/   Perhaps something to kick-off a class discussion is HBR article on linking executive compensation to sustainability goals:  https://hbr.org/2018/11/how-to-tie-executive-compensation-to-sustainability
5. The Past and Future of Homo Sapiens and Biosphere: The interdependence of the ecology of collective human fictions within nature's objective ecology:  Yuval Harari's talks about his books such as Homo Deus are powerful and suggest where the evolution of human cognition is headed and the implications for us and the biosphere (would be an interesting way to begin & end a course).  Introduction - How homo sapiens became the most "successful" species:  https://youtu.be/nzj7Wg4DAbs (17 min).  Are 7-8 billion humans "imaginative" enough and "flexibly organized" enough as a species to construct and believe in a universal fiction that supports a viable biosphere as well as "happiness" for most humans?    Ending Note:  The Future of Our Collective Human Fiction - AI and the Future of Life and Humanity:  https://youtu.be/hL9uk4hKyg4  (29 min, start at 2:00) and The Coming AI Upheaval (90 min):  https://youtu.be/d4rBh6DBHyw   Harari continues to amaze.
6. 25 Best New Sustainability Books To Read In 2019 – Pick and choose, many very recent and low cost. Possibilities include Designing Sustainable Technologies (2018) – Free Kindle Version:  https://amzn.to/2wmAyeI and Sustainable Business Models (2018) -  Rent for $62   https://amzn.to/2HH4fgS    

Cheers,

Iain