“The central message of Stuart Hart’s book is that global business needs to be caring and be committed to preserving the globe’s ecological integrity. The ongoing economic slowdown brought about by rampant capitalism, the lessons from which this new edition of the book factors in, has only served to emphasize the urgency for business to adopt the radical transformation of strategy that Stuart has been advocating.”
–RATAN TATA, Chairman, Tata Group
“A few books change the way you think. Very few change the way you act. Stuart Hart’s writings have served as a practical guide, a system of road signs that put new order into the complex business of becoming sustainable. We’re learning that we can advance in a meaningful, exciting, and beneficial way. We fully expect that his ideas are guideposts that will mark Dow Corning’s road to sustainability leadership.”
–STEPHANIE BURNS, Ph.D., Chairman, CEO, and President, Dow Corning Corporation
“Capitalism at the Crossroads rightly points to capitalism as the most powerful and creative force we have for solving global problems. It is a welcome antidote to widespread ignorance about capitalism as a force for good.”
–JOHN MACKEY, CEO, Whole Foods Market, and coauthor, Be the Solution
“I hope this book will be able to influence the thought processes of corporations and motivate them to adapt to forthcoming business realities for the sake of their own long-term existence. Besides business leaders, this is a thought-provoking book for the readers who are looking for solutions to capitalism’s problems.”
–MUHAMMAD YUNUS, Founder and Managing Director, Grameen Bank, Bangladesh, and 2006 Nobel Peace Prize recipient
“…a pioneering roadmap to responsible corporate growth.”
–CLAYTON CHRISTENSEN, Professor, Harvard Business School, and New York Times best-selling author, The Innovator’s Dilemma
Reinventing Capitalism and Companies for a Radically New World
Today’s era of economic crisis has sent a powerful message: The age of “mercenary” capitalism is ending. We must finally embark on a new age of sustainable, stakeholder-based capitalism. While enlightened executives and policymakers understand the critical need for change, few have tangible plans for making it happen. In Capitalism at the Crossroads, Stuart L. Hart presents new strategies for identifying sustainable products, technologies, and business models that will drive urgently needed growth and help solve social and environmental problems at the same time.
Drawing on his experience consulting with top companies and NGOs worldwide, Hart shows how to craft your optimal sustainability strategy and overcome the limitations of traditional “greening” approaches. In this edition, he presents new and updated case studies from the United States and around the world, demonstrating what’s working and what isn’t. He also guides business leaders in building an organizational “infrastructure for sustainability”–one that can survive budgeting and boardrooms, recharging innovation and growth throughout your enterprise.
Mapping the terrain: where we stand and where to go from here
The new business case for pursuing sustainable capitalism
Beyond “greening”
Implementing sustainability strategies that go far beyond environmental sensitivity
Becoming indigenous: how to build a truly sustainable global enterprise
How to fully embed your enterprise in the local context–and why you should
Robust organizational blueprints for sustaining sustainability
Making long-term sustainability work in a short-term world
About the Author
Stuart L. Hart is one of the world’s top authorities on the implications of sustainable development and environment for business strategy. He is currently the Samuel C. Johnson Chair in Sustainable Global Enterprise and Professor of Management at Cornell’s Johnson Graduate School of Management. He also serves as Distinguished Fellow at the William Davidson Institute (University of Michigan) and President of Enterprise for a Sustainable World. Previously, he taught strategic management and founded both the Center for Sustainable Enterprise (CSE) at the University of North Carolina’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and the Corporate Environmental Management Program (now the Erb Institute Dual Master’s Program) at the University of Michigan.
Hart’s consulting clients range from DuPont and SC Johnson to Unilever and General Electric. He is an internationally recognized speaker and has delivered hundreds of keynote addresses on the topic of sustainable business around the world.
He wrote the seminal article “Beyond Greening: Strategies for a Sustainable World,” which won the McKinsey Award for Best Article in Harvard Business Review in 1997 and helped launch the movement for corporate sustainability. With C.K. Prahalad, he also wrote the groundbreaking 2002 article, “The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid,” which provided the first articulation of how business could profitably serve the needs of the four billion poor in the developing world. He invites readers to email him at slh55@cornell.edu and to visit his website at www.stuartlhart.com.
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