Price: $27.50 $18.15

In recent years, many useful books have been published promoting the greening of business. I think immediately of Natural Capitalism (2000) by Paul Hawken, Amory Lovins, and L. Hunter Lovins. The strength of Green and Gold lies in its extensive reference to case histories of "Green Wave Riding" corporations, ranging from IKEA to BP. The authors, Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston, spent years conducting interviews with key environmental managers and top executives in the companies (both US and international) which they identify as leading the way toward environmentally sustainable production. I learned a great deal from the many examples, which include several instances of green initiatives that failed, for one reason or another. The authors emphasize that trade offs are always necessary on the market, and that when it comes to so-called "green" products, marketing may work best when the green advantage comes third after price and performance. It is impossible to summarize the many angles that the authors discovered are being pursued by companies that have discovered that "no" is not an answer when it comes to doing things the right way, environmentally. My only quibble is that at times I lost sight of the overall structure of the book, such that I needed on occasion to refer to the table of contents to remind me of the main focus of a given chapter. Overall, I highly recommend this very accessible, well written, and timely book.

This book was a primary resource for the development of my client's green program. It was focused enough to provide a thorough understanding of the hot environmental issues, without being too tree-huggerish. It highlights the responsibilities of global stewardship along with those of being financially accountable in the business arena.

Green to Gold is a very thorough, well written book. Anyone involved in marketing should definitely take the time to read this book. I learned a great deal from this book it was well worth my investment of money and time.