Summer is coming and we all have more time to read. For this reason, in the following post we recommend five books on sustainability and impact. Purpose, sustainability and impact have become tremendously relevant topics that we sometimes wish we knew more about.
In these books, successful entrepreneurs such as Paul Polman, academics such as Rebecca Henderson, or visionaries such as Sir Ronald Cohen propose a new way of doing business, a new way of doing business, a new way of transforming business and setting the roadmap in purpose.
Over the past year we have seen how Non-financial aspects are becoming a strategic element in companies.. The market, investors, consumers and society in general are clearly demanding that companies generate a positive impact on the environment and the planet through their activities.
Brands that are doing so are improving their profitability, retaining talent, better accessing financing and becoming stronger companies vis-à-vis their competitors.
For those who believe that the world is changing, that there is another way of doing business and that companies have to play a fundamental role in this change, from within, reinventing the way they work and placing impact at the centre of their activity, we would like to recommend some books.
Deep Purpose, by Ranjay Gulati
It is one of the Top 10 on 2022 management and one of those must-have books on sustainability and impact. Written by the distinguished professor at Harvard Business School, Ranjay Gulati, offers a compelling review and defence of purpose, documenting the enormous benefits that accrue to companies that get the purpose right.
After extensive research, Ranjay Gulati reveals the mistakes leaders make in defining their purpose.
To get purpose right, leaders must fundamentally change not only how they execute it, but also how they conceive of it and relate to it. They must practice what Gulati calls deep purpose, fostering each organisation's raison d'être in a more intense, reflective and comprehensive way.
In this guide, Gulati takes readers inside some of the world's most committed companies to understand the secret of their success.
Net Positive, by Paul Polman and Andrew Winston
A guide for business leaders seeking to create zero positive impact.
Paul Polman, the former president of "Unilever",which managed to increase its shareholder returns by 300% by being the world's number one sustainability company for eleven years, has written this book together with, Andrew Winston,one of the most inspirational voices on the topic ofcorporate sustainability.
With foreword for the Spanish version of Angel Bonet. In this book, both authors aim to show business leaders how to tackle humanity's biggest and most urgent challenges - climate change and inequality - without neglecting business and profitability.
To this end, they call on companies to act boldly and to have a "net positive impact"They prosper by giving back to the world more than they receive.
Because "Net Positive" companies foster innovation, build trust, attract the best talent, retain customers and ensure lasting success.
Grow the pie, by Alex Edmans
It is one of the reference books on entrepreneurial purpose for those interested in being part of the new capitalism.
Based on academic evidence, but with very practical ideas and under the need to combine profitability with Purpose in business, it was chosen as Business Book of the Year by "Financial Times in 2020".
Remaigining capitalism in a world on fire, by Rebecca Henderson
The leading economist and influential professor at Harvard's John and Natty McArthur University has written this book to warn that capitalism, as it was conceived, is having a very destructive impact on the planet and is destabilising the society we live in. This has positioned it as a key book on sustainability and the business impact.
For Rebecca Henderson the sole purpose of business should not be to make money and maximise shareholder value and in this book he shows that change is possible. Fascinating stories of companies that have taken the first steps to reinvent capitalism provide inspiring insights.
In the book, Henderson provides insights into the role of government and how the world of finance, governance and leadership must also evolve. In this book, the Harvard professor provides the pragmatic basis for navigating a world that faces an unprecedented challenge, but also an extraordinary opportunity.
Impact by Sir Ronald Cohen
One of the world's leading authorities on sustainability and the impact economy shows in his book "Impact" how the drive for impact investment is turning our economic system on its head, transforming the private sector into a catalyst for positive impact; distributing opportunities more fairly and providing solutions to major social and environmental challenges.
For sir Ronald Cohen, this revolution which he calls the Impact Revolution, is going to be as innovative and disruptive as the Technological Revolution was in its day.
