Dispatch from the SSC Team
This series of "green reads" provides a snapshot into the most important books in sustainability. We've divided them up into categories -- be sure to check out the whole series!
And now, part eight ...all about your Green Supply Chain.
Green Logistics: Improving the Environmental Sustainability of Logistics
Author: Alan McKinnon, Sharon Cullinane, Michael Browne, Anthony Whiteing (Pages 352)
Design for Environment presents a justification for businesses to create sustainable products and processes for their supply chain. The book discusses how focusing on the environment as part of thebusiness plan generates additional business value. Concepts include: practice integrated product development; deciding upon metrics to represent product life-cycle performance for the business; application of systems thinking to reduce the supply chain environmental footprint.
Why we chose it: The author is the Executive Director of the Center for Resilience at The Ohio State University and is internationally recognized as one of the original thought leaders in the green business community and sustainable business practices.
Published: April 2010
Greening the Supply Chain
Author: Joseph Sarkis (Pages 407)
Greening the Supply Chain is a compilation of important chapters written by a diverse set of international authors which incorporates a broad variety of perspectives including:
- topics on conceptual development and principles of green supply chain management;
- empirical studies which provide the reader with practices and concerns of industries throughout the world including Asia, Europe and North America;
- quantitative and analytical tools to aid in environmental supply chain design and development, and;
- case studies of implementations of green supply chain practices which describe the complexities facing organizations, supply chains and industries and how they address these environmental concerns through technical and managerial measures.
Why we chose it: From the reviews: "This book, which is written in a very understandable style, focuses on definitions, philosophies, and practices that achieve greening at every stage and function of the supply chain. … I highly recommend the book to students and professionals … who wish to acquire a depth of knowledge of green strategies and practices. … GSCM researchers will find this book to be an excellent resource on GSCM foundation theories. … It will be particularly useful as a reference for researchers, managers, and graduate students." (Sergio Ubeda, Interfaces, Vol. 38 (2), 2008)
Published: August 2006
Cradle to Cradle: Rethinking the Way We Make Things
Author: William McDonough, Michael Braungart (Page 203)
William McDonough's book, written with his colleague, the German chemist Michael Braungart, is a manifesto calling for the transformation of human industry through ecologically intelligent design. Through historical sketches on the roots of the industrial revolution; commentary on science, nature and society; descriptions of key design principles; and compelling examples of innovative products and business strategies already reshaping the marketplace, McDonough and Braungart make the case that an industrial system that "takes, makes and wastes" can become a creator of goods and services that generate ecological, social and economic value.
Why we chose it: " In Cradle to Cradle, the authors present a manifesto calling for a new industrial revolution, one that would render both traditional manufacturing and traditional environmentalism obsolete... It is a refreshing change from the intractable environmental conflicts that dominate headlines. It's a handbook for 21st-century innovation and should be required reading for business hotshots and environmental activists". --Therese Littleton
Published: April 2002
Design for Environment: A Guide to Sustainable Product Development: Eco-efficient Product Development
Author: Joseph Fiksel (Pages 432)
- Practice integrated product development and concurrent engineering
- Select appropriate metrics to represent product life-cycle performance
- Maintain and apply a portfolio of systematic Design for Environment strategies
- Use analysis methods to evaluate design performance and trade-offs
- Apply systems thinking to reduce the supply chain environmental footprint
Why we chose it: The author is the Executive Director of the Center for Resilience at The Ohio State University and is internationally recognized as one of the original thought leaders in the green business community and sustainable business practices.
Published: June 2009