Werbach, A. (2009). Strategy for sustainability: A business manifesto

Defining sustainability as "thriving in perpetuity" (p. 9), Werbach promoted the ecological modernization view that economic advancement and environmental viability can occur hand-in-hand. Describing the theory, Mol (2002) claimed, “The emergence of actual environmental-induced transformations of institutions and social practices in industrialized societies, are encapsulated in the ecological modernization theory” (p. 93). Werbach stated, "the corporate sector has the incentives, operational know-how, scalability, and ingenuity to respond to the global challenges we face today . . . Why? Because, by the beginning of the twenty-first century, over half of the world's hundred largest economies were corporations" (p. 3).

Werbach believed that his definition of sustainability extended beyond the current concept of being 'green'. To him, it redefined the manner in which businesses operated and had social, economic, environmental, and cultural dimensions. He explained the components in this manner: "social (acting as if other people matter) . . . economic (operating profitably) . . . environmental (protecting and restoring the ecosystem) . . . cultural (protecting and valuing cultural diversity)" (pp. 9-10).

The basic rules of nature should, according to Werbach, govern how companies operate. Nature thrives on diversity, its adapts, it exists as an open, social, and regenerating system. Werbach viewed nature as progressive, it would "improve with each cycle" (p. 20). From this vantage point, he developed "seven tenets of a strategy for sustainability" (p. 21). The list of tenets follow: "1. Natural resources will become increasingly scarce and expensive . . . massive democratic change is occurring . . . people are the most important renewable resource . . . cash flow matters more than quarterly earnings . . . every organization's operating environment will change as dramatically in the next three to five years as it has changed in the last five . . . a chaotic external world requires internal cohesion and flexibility . . . only the truly transparent will survive" (pp. 21-32). From these principles, Werbach created a map called STaR, which stands for the components of Social , Technological, and Resource changes. North Star goals, continued Werbach, acted as the guide for the map. The goals contained numerous attributes--constancy, action, alignment, achievable ends, organizational commitment, "optimistic and aspirational" (p. 35) rewards. Viewing STaR as linear, Werbach added a cyclical perspective to his construct, "the TEN cycle" (p. 36). He explained the TEN cycle, "these three initiatives, transparency, engagement, and networking--the TEN cycle--are so called because they work cyclically to renew the conditions under which you can prosper in the long term and achieve your North Star goals"(p. 36).

Werbach offered specific measurements for STaR. Of those for the environment, he specified "materials used by weight or volume per dollar of revenue, percentage of recycled input materials used, energy use per unit of revenue, percentage of locally customized products or service offerings, energy saved from conservation and efficiency, total water use, percentage and total volume of water recycled and reused, total direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions by weight, negative effects on biodiversity, annual transportation costs" (p. 113). Obviously, tracking these holistic measurements of sustainability requires a sophisticated database of information.




Mol, A. P. J. (2000). Ecological modernization and the global economy. Global Environmental
Politics, 2(2), 92-115.

Werbach, A. (2009). Strategy for sustainability: A business manifesto. Boston: Harvard Business Press.