T he urgency of the climate crisis and increasing social pressures are pushing large corporations to fundamentally rethink how they do business. Sustainable innovation isn’t just a nice-to-have; it’s a core strategic imperative. But how do you drive meaningful change within the complex structures of established organizations?
Fortunately, there’s a wealth of knowledge available. Here’s a curated list of 20 essential books that offer methodologies, tools, and playbooks for navigating the path to sustainable innovation and business design in large corporates:
Foundational Thinking
The Circular Economy Handbook: Develop and Implement a Circular Business Model by Catherine Weetman
This book provides a comprehensive framework for understanding and implementing circular economy principles, which are fundamental to sustainable business models.
Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things by William McDonough and Michael Braungart
A classic that challenges traditional “cradle to grave” manufacturing and advocates for designing products that can be fully recycled or composted.
Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming by Paul Hawken
An essential resource that maps out the most effective solutions for reversing global warming, providing a basis for identifying impactful innovation opportunities.
Doughnut Economics: Seven Ways to Think Like a 21st-Century Economist by Kate Raworth
Raworth’s framework offers a new economic model that balances social and planetary boundaries, providing a crucial lens for sustainable business design.
Innovation Methodologies & Tools
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries
While not explicitly about sustainability, Lean Startup principles are crucial for efficiently validating and scaling sustainable innovations.
Business Model Generation: A Handbook for Visionaries, Game Changers, and Challengers by Alexander Osterwalder and Yves Pigneur
This book provides a powerful visual language and methodology for designing and innovating business models, essential for integrating sustainability.
Value Proposition Design: How to Create Products and Services Customers Want by Alexander Osterwalder et al.
A practical guide to creating value propositions that resonate with customers, which is key to driving adoption of sustainable products and services.
Design Thinking: Integrating Innovation, Customer Experience, and Brand Value by Thomas Lockwood
Design thinking provides a human-centered approach to innovation, ensuring that sustainable solutions are desirable, feasible, and viable.
Sustainability-Specific
Sustainable Value: How the World’s Most Forward-Looking Companies Are Doing Well by Doing Good by Chris Laszlo
Laszlo explores how companies can create “sustainable value” by integrating environmental, social, and governance (ESG) considerations into their core business strategies.
The Big Pivot: Radically Practical Strategies for a Hotter, Scarcer, and More Open World by Andrew S. Winston
Winston offers a pragmatic roadmap for companies to adapt to the challenges of climate change and resource scarcity.
Net Positive: How Courageous Companies Thrive by Giving More Than They Take by Paul Polman and Andrew S. Winston
Polman and Winston argue that companies should strive to be “net positive” by giving back more to society and the planet than they take.
Reinventing Capitalism in a World on Fire by Rebecca Henderson
Henderson provides a compelling case for how businesses can play a leading role in addressing climate change and social inequality.
Corporate Change & Implementation
Leading Sustainable Change: An Organizational Perspective by Jorrit Bornemann
This book focuses on the organizational dynamics of implementing sustainability initiatives, offering guidance for change management.
The Essentials of Theory U: Core Principles and Applictions by Otto Scharmer
Scharmer explores the inner dimensions of leadership and organizational change required for deep sustainability transformation.
The Necessary Revolution: How Individuals and Organizations Are Working Together to Create a Sustainable World by Peter Senge et al.
Senge, known for his work on learning organizations, examines how organizations can learn and adapt to sustainability challenges.
Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build a Sustainable World by Daniel C. Esty and Andrew S. Winston
Esty and Winston provide a business case for sustainability, demonstrating how environmental strategy can drive innovation and profitability.
The Future of Sustainable Business
The Economics of Climate Change by Nicholas Stern
Stern, known for his work on the economics of climate change, outlines the economic transformation needed for a sustainable future.
The Power of And – Responsible Business Without Trade–Offs by R. Edward Freeman, Kirsten E. Martin, Bidhan L. Parmar
This book re-examines the foundations of capitalism, advocating for a stakeholder-centric approach that prioritizes social and environmental well-being.
Designing Regenerative Cultures by Daniel Christian Wahl
Wahl explores how to move beyond sustainability towards regenerative systems that restore and enhance the planet’s ecosystems.
Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman by Yvon Chouinard
While not a traditional business book, Chouinard’s story of Patagonia offers valuable lessons in building a company with a strong commitment to environmental and social responsibility.
This list provides a starting point for any corporate leader or innovator looking to drive meaningful change. By diving into these resources, you can equip yourself with the knowledge, tools, and inspiration to build a more sustainable and resilient future for your organization and the world.
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Mike Pinder is a cross-industry business innovation expert & consultant, thought leader, author, lecturer & international keynote speaker on innovation. He’s driven by using innovation to leave the world a better place than we found it. Mike is a co-founder of Wicked Acceleration Labs (an industry-academia research lab aimed at tackling wicked problems), Member of Board of Advisors at Global Innovation Institute (GInI), & Honorary Practice Fellow at Imperial College London Business School.
Mike consults and leads across innovation strategy, Design Thinking, Lean Start-up, Business Model Innovation in both B2B and B2C, guiding c-level innovation strategy, innovation accelerator design, co-creation, capability programs, academic research, executive education (Exec Ed) university program design, intrapreneurship, digital transformation, sprints & more.
