Nature’s Fortune: How Business and Society Thrive by Investing in Nature

Environmentalists think businesspeople are irresponsible. Businesspeople think environmentalists are impractical and naive. Can’t we all just get along? We certainly can, says Nature Conservancy CEO Tercek, formerly a managing director at Goldman Sachs. The organization, which pursues conservation in all 50 states and 35 countries, has given Tercek the impetus to ask: how can environmentalists and businesses work together to produce conservation measures that make sense? First, they need to work with governments to enact strong and effective policies, and with individuals, who need to make their voices heard as voters and consumers. Tercek, along with science writer and conservation biologist Adams, covers a broad spectrum of environmental needs and challenges (water usage and consumption, preventing overfishing, reef restoration, climate change, urban conservation, population growth), as well as companies that have an ideal mix of environmental footprint and global brand. The authors convincingly argue that corporate responsibility is not only the right ethical tactic, but the right business move; making an investment in the environment now will help companies obtain the necessary resources in the future, and it will also have a positive effect on their bottom lines. According to this savvy book, both environmentalists and business executives need to understand “how nature contributes to economic and ecological well-being.” Agent: Lisa Adams, the Garamond Agency. (Apr.)