Can we grow our world economy and create opportunities for the poor
while keeping the planet intact? Can we maintain our vibrant, dynamic
lifestyles while ensuring the Earth stays productive and viable? Aimed
at managers, students, scholars, and policymakers, Sustainability
Management answers these questions in the affirmative, arguing it is
possible for environmentally sustainable business practices and policies
to foster economic and long-term growth.
Written by a former analyst and consultant with the EPA, this book
originally combines sustainable efforts in water, agriculture, urban,
and power management to achieve--in practice, not just in theory--a
sustainable planet and economy. Steven Cohen begins with the technical,
financial, managerial, and political challenges of such a project, and
then honestly assesses sustainable practices in the manufacturing and
service industries. He addresses renewable and carbon-free energy
production; water sustainability, especially with regard to energy
issues involving filtration, distribution, and changing rainfall
patterns; food cultivation and distribution; and ways to maintain the
interdependent systems on which we depend to live. Taking examples from
New York City, one of the most sustainable and sustainability-minded
metropolises in the world, Cohen explains how everything from
construction to waste management can be designed to facilitate a
sustainable environment, not just for New York but also for the world.
He concludes with this macroscopic view, outlining the global efforts
necessary to preserve biodiversity and ecosystems, and the impact of
war, terrorism, and human conflict on sustainability.
