Cannibals with Forks: The Triple Bottom Line of 21st Century Business

"Is it progress if a cannibal uses a fork?" asked th poet Stanislaw Lec. In capitalism as we know it, corporations are like cannibals, carving up and devouring competing corporations. Would capitalists who embraced sustainability -- cannibals with forks -- constitute real progress? Best-selling author and green business guru John Elkington passionately demonstrates how businesses of all sizes can use sustainability's 3-pronged "fork" -- the triple bottom line -- to expand their company's life expectancy along with everyone else's on planet Earth.

In Cannibals with Forks, Elkington convincingly argues that future market success will often depend on a company's ability to satisfy not just the traditional bottom line of profitability, but also the two emerging bottom lines -- one focusing on environmental quality, the other on social justice. In this lively and practical guide, Elkington reviews progress made to date on the early "greening" of capitalism; outlines the seven great "sustainable" revolutions that are already unfolding and shows how business leaders should respond; describes the "sustainable corporation" and the expectations that future customers, shareholders, and employees will demand of the business world; provides a sustainability audit; and last but not least, a handy "phrase book" section to decipher sustainable business "speak".

The book profiles some of the world's best known companies including Nike, Wal-mart; Levi Strauss, Volkswagen, Texaco, Intel, Volvo, Dow Chemical, Procter & Gamble, Electrolux, Novo Nordisk, and Shell.