Strategy and Sustainability

Business and environmental sustainability are not natural bedfellows. Business is about making money; sustainability is about protecting the planet. Business is measured in months and quarters; sustainability often requires significant short term costs to secure a sometimes uncertain long-term benefit. To some activists, all executives are exploitative, selfish “1 percenters”. To some executives, all activists are irresponsible, unyielding extremists.

And yet engaging with the issue isn’t optional – all businesses must have a strategy to deal with sustainability and, like any strategy, this involves making choices.

Strategy and Sustainability encourages its readers to filter out the noise and make those choices in a hard-nosed and clear-eyed way. Rosenberg’s nuanced and fact-based point of view recognizes the complexity of the issues at hand and the strategic choices businesses must make. He blends the work of some of the leading academic thinkers in the field with practical examples from a variety of business sectors and geographies and offers a framework with which Senior Management might engage with the topic, not (just) to save the planet but to fulfil their short, medium, and long-term responsibilities to shareholders and other stakeholders.<

“Strategy and Sustainability reads very well and the blend of facts, views, and historical and technical data is a source of continuous inspiration. The recognition that perceptions and realities are highly influenced by regional and developmental factors makes the book very insightful.”

- José Lopez, Member of the Executive Committee, World Business Council for Sustainable Development; Former Executive Vice President for Worldwide Operations, Nestlé

“Strategy and Sustainability provides an excellent overview of the sustainability discussion, its development, and its relevance for businesses. Michael Rosenberg’s book provides a holistic and good read about the different challenges to bridge the gap between the traditional business perspective and stakeholder expectations.”

- Uwe Bergmann, Director Sustainability Management, Henkel

"If it's not safe, it's not sustainable. If it's not sustainable, it has no future. Forthose that understand the laws of successful industry, putting these practices into action is the foundation for a successful business."

- Mark Cutifani, Chief Executive, Anglo American plc quoted on LSE and NYSE

"Sustainability is a central dimension of good corporate governance. Mike Rosenberg's book provides an excellent framework and real cases on how senior executives and board members should include sustainability in strategic discussions.”

- Jordi Canals, Dean, IESE Business School

“Mike Rosenberg’s new primer on the corporate sustainability landscape nicely fills the knowledge gap for Board-level business people. And almost anyone can use the thoughtful frameworks to better diagnose today’s challenges and plan a more concrete and less risky path forward.”

- “Hutch” Hutchinson, Senior Fellow, Rocky Mountain Institute; former Director, The Boston Consulting Group

“Mike Rosenberg makes a persuasive argument that business success is incomplete without a dedication to environmental sustainability. Rosenberg suggests all leaders have a responsibility to be accountable on this important scale and offers concrete ways to make change for the better.”

- Steve Capus, Executive Producer of the “CBS Evening News with Scott Pelley”; Executive Editor, CBS News

Mike Rosenberg is an Assistant Professor at IESE Business School. Professor Rosenberg joined the faculty at IESE after working for more than 15 years as a Management Consultant for companies such as Arthur D. Little, A.T. Kearney, and Heidrich & Struggles working in Europe, North America, and Asia.

Professor Rosenberg lectures on Strategy, Globalization, and Sustainability in IESE's MBA and executive programs. He is also Academic Director of a number of the school’s top-ranked executive education programs. In addition to his academic work, Professor Rosenberg routinely consults with leading international companies and is asked to speak on topicsrelating to scenario planning, sustainability, and managing global firms.