Saving the World at Work by Tim Sanders |Book Brief

The book  Saving the World at Work  asserts that there is a revolution brewing in America that will change the business landscape as we know it. Author Tim Sanders advocates steps that companies and individuals can take to go beyond making a profit to making a difference.

Tim Sanders: There s a firestorm spreading through companies across the country. A revolution that will transform our reasons for buying products and services. I call this the Responsibility Revolution.  Customers, employees, and investors are starting to demand that companies focus on their social responsibilities - not just their bottom lines. Sixty-five percent of American consumers say they would switch to brands associated with a good cause if price and quality are equal; 66 percent of recent college graduates will not work for companies with poor social values. Businesses that do not take this revolution into account are putting their companies at risk.

I have a saying that  good is the new great.   Here s what I mean: people want to work for companies that do good in their communities or for the world.  Customers want to make a difference with their buying power, and companies are looking at their suppliers and vendors more critically to see if they're doing the right thing for society and the planet.  In other words, companies who want to be great, first have to do good.  Some of the greatest companies have already caught on.  For example, Nokia s major strategic initiative in the 80 s and 90 s was quality, but today, it s corporate responsibility! Nokia already has remarkable initiatives like their Helping Hands program where their employees are given two days to pursue any community based initiative that s important to them. That is a perfect example of a great company doing good.

When we speak of the cost of something in the world of social and environmental responsibility, we re usually referring to the cost of our carbon footprint or green house emissions, but in the world of business, companies have to be well aware of their bottom line at the same time.  A common misconception about  going green  is that it will cost you more.  But in practice, the truth is quite the opposite.  For example, did you know that a one gigabyte USB thumb drive filled with documents never printed can save a company about $6000 in printing, ink, overnight shipping of the documents, disposal, and carbon waste? The key is to focus on the first two R s of sustainability - Reducing waste and Reusing whenever possible.  Consider Interface Flor, a leading carpet manufacturing company that reduced its carbon footprint by 50% in just three years and as a result saved over three hundred million dollars. So green is not only free, it s good for your company s bottom line.

When it comes to saving the world, it s really all about you. I truly believe that anyone can change a company and one person can help save the world.  I call such people Saver Soldiers. One of the best examples I can give of a Saver Soldier is by revisiting Interface Flor to explain how they came to turn their company around. It all started with a woman named Joyce LeValle and her daughter Melissa back in 1994. Melissa, a newly reformed environmentalist, sent her mom a signed copy of The Ecology of Commerce by Paul Hawken, a book about how the world s industrial titans were plundering the planet for profit. She put a sticky note in the book that said  Mom, Ray Anderson needs to read this book. The carpet industry s in big trouble.  At the time, Joyce was the regional sales director of Interface on the west coast. The book made her aware of the fact that carpet is made largely of petroleum-based products and up until 1997, 98 percent of all carpets ended up in landfill. Joyce mailed the book to Anderson s secretary, who placed the book cleverly at the corner of Anderson s desk. Anderson picked it up as something to read while traveling. When he read the book, it changed his life. He began making sweeping changes to his company, including slashing carbon emissions in the production process, commanding factories to recycle all vinyl carpet backings and prohibiting the use of non-recycled petroleum based products. Within the first twelve years, Interface diverted over 100 million pounds of carpet and waste from landfills. All this because one person believed that she could be the force for change. One person!

The premise of  Saving the World at Work  is simple.  I want to recruit you, and train you, for the Responsibility Revolution. I hope that my book triggers a revolution in you!