The Breakthrough Challenge: 10 Ways to Connect Today's Profits with Tomorrow's Bottom Line

by John Elkington

Much has been said about corporate social responsibility, and most organizations already understand that they must realign their traditional focus on profit alone to measure results in terms of their economic, social, and environmental effects. What remains largely unexplored is this question: if the old ways are on the way out, what will the new economic landscape look like? How will this sea change affect the way we do business in 2020, 2050, and beyond?

"The Breakthrough Challenge" sets out to answer this question. The authors draw on their unique position as practitioners, authorities, and critics--John Elkington coined the phrase "triple bottom line" in 1997 and has been a thought leader on sustainable business ever since, and Jochen Zeitz is a rising star in the world of corporate social responsibility, having pioneered the "environment profit & loss" concept during a successful tenure as Puma's CEO. Elkington and Zeitz set forth a compelling argument that it isn't only our accounting methods that are set to change. Tomorrow's understanding of capital and value will be very different from today's, and a concept of "blended" or "shared" value will affect all realms of the economy, from stock exchanges and pension funds to boardrooms and C-suites, with sweeping consequences for all organizations. The book will feature the insights of over 50 major corporate leaders interviewed by Elkington and Zeitz, providing a strong pulse reading on our business climate, poised on the brink of a major turning point.All managers need to go beyond the basics of corporate sustainability to find a deep knowledge of the fast-changing world and how it measures and quantifies an organization's value--and how those changes will affect their organization. "The Breakthrough Challenge "is an essential guide to understanding and anticipating the systems of tomorrow's capitalism, markets, and businesses.

Genres: Business

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Professor John Elkington is an Executive Director of SustainAbility Ltd. A leading authority on the role of industry in sustainable development, he is a consultant to such organisations as BP, Procter & Gamble, USAID, and the UN Environment Programme.
He sits on advisory panels at the Merlin Ecology Fund and the Nature Conservancy Council. He has authored or co-authored numerous books and has published several hundred reports, papers and articles for a wide variety of journals, magazines and national newspapers.
On World Environment Day in June 1989, John Elkington was named to the United Nations Environment Programme's 'Global 500 Roll of Honour' for his 'outstanding environmental achievements'.

Reviews

[Celeste · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Concepts, but if you've read The Triple Bottom Line and Abundance, it's more of the similar concepts. It's important that it is outlining a clear call to action and folks like Richard Branson at Virgin and his philanthropy are stepping up.

Of note: mentions the four kinds of capital: "Intellectual, Human, Social, and Natural Capital"

[Theodore Kinni · Rating 4 out of 5]

The thesis is startling: Business must lead the charge to a sustainable planet. And meeting the challenge requires a radical reboot of the traditional mindset