Author Description

Updated for 2022, Killing Sustainability expands its analysis and candid evaluation of the current worlds of sustainability, environmental/social/governance (ESG) and corporate responsibility. The setting and circumstances changed significantly since the book's original 2018 publication but the core theme is even more important than ever given the recent seismic shift in corporate & investor emphasis on ESG programs/metrics. Author Lawrence Heim presents blunt truth about why many executives hesitate to invest in sustainability, social responsibility and ESG programs, how practitioners create credibility problems in their organizations and how to use credible financial valuation methods to overcome these barriers. Based on three and one-half decades of advising Fortune 500 companies, the US Securities and Exchange Commission, US Departments of State and Commerce and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on environmental management, responsible supply chains, sustainability, risk management and non-financial auditing, Heim delivers what others in the sustainability/CSR/ESG world won't talk about. Killing Sustainability reveals historical attitudes that continue to impact executive actions today, how sustainability/CSR professionals create credibility problems in organizations and ways to apply behavioral economics and credible financial valuation methods. Instead of offering a formulaic list of cliche projects, Heim gives readers in-depth understanding of barriers that exist in convincing the C-suite and consumers of sustainability/CSR's value, then provides frameworks and approaches for communicating in a way that is meaningful to specific audiences, including the all-important economic justification. Perhaps no other book tackles the reality of corporate ESG management with the clarity and practicality of Killing Sustainability. This is a must read for: those new to ESG