Corporate Environmental Strategy: The Avalanche of Change since Bhopal »

BRUCE W. PIASECKI, PhD, is Director of the Environmental Management Program, Lally Management Center, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He is also the founder and President of the American Hazard Control Group, an environmental management consulting firm whose clients include the American Plastics Council, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Hoechst Celanese, the United States Congress, and the EPA. He is the editor of the Journal of Corporate Environmental Strategy and the author of many influential books and articles on environmental management issues. Other prestigious titles by Dr. Piasecki include Beyond Dumping, America's Future in Toxic Waste Management, and In Search of Environmental Excellence which received the Nature Society Book of the Year Award for 1990.

One of the most devastating environmental disasters of all time, the 1984 Union Carbide plant explosion at Bhopal, India, forever changed the way corporations view environmental performance. Now, in this groundbreaking book, one of the business world's most highly regarded environmental consultants tells the complete inside story of how, in the wake of Bhopal, four multinational corporations have successfully transformed environmental performance from a major liability to a major asset. In the process, he extracts a set of general principles which can be integrated successfully with any corporation's strategic planning and redesign process.

Writing in an accessible journalistic style, Bruce Piasecki describes how the world business community was rocked by the Bhopal debacle, and explains why, while some companies were plowed under by the avalanche of change that ensued, others, including Union Carbide, ARCO, AT&T, and Warner-Lambert, went on to strengthen their competitive positions. In his vivid account of the steps taken by those companies to improve environmental performance, Piasecki clearly identifies four distinct approaches to the same problem. He shows precisely how and why each company's efforts were rewarded, not only with environmental breakthroughs but with improved financial performance as well. In a series of dramatic case histories, Piasecki reveals, for the first time, the full details of the initiatives taken at each company, including:
* Union Carbide and the development of strict auditing standards
* ARCO and the development of environment-friendly gasoline
* AT&T and the role of strategic alliances in the initiative to eliminate CFCsfrom electronics production
* Warner-Lambert and the drive to develop truly biodegradable plastics


At a time when the fate of many companies hinges on the environmental strategies they adopt, this book offers managers an unparalleled opportunity to learn from the success stories of four companies that have transformed themselves into environmentally progressive firms. More importantly, it shows them how to apply the lessons they learn to their own organizations.

"Bruce Piasecki is a keen observer of the arena where corporate politics and environmental goals intersect. His new book Corporate Environmental Strategy contains invaluable insights into the coming change for the positive in ecological affairs." — Gregg Easterbrook Newsweek

"This is a book for policy and opinion leaders, managers, and businesspeople. While others talk about 'green marketing,' Piasecki tackles the harder task of showing how environmental improvement can be used as a strategic asset by industry to gain competitive advantage." — from the Foreword by Bill Perkins and Ellen Lepper Founding Partners The Potomac Communications Group

"Corporate Environmental Strategy will contribute to society's understanding that the environmental protection initiative in the United States has moved from polarization to partnership." — Thomas S. Davis E&S Engineering Affairs AT&T

"Bruce Piasecki is that rare academician who has a practical understanding of the challenges faced by environmental managers." — Charles L. Grizzle The Grizzle Company and former EPA Assistant Administrator

Here is the inside story of how four major multinational corporations proved that responsible environmental policy is not only right—it's profitable. Union Carbide, ARCO, AT&T, and Warner-Lambert successfully transformed environmental performance from a major liability to a major asset. The methods they developed can be applied in virtually any industrial setting to increase competitiveness and add luster to the corporate image.

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Piasecki argues that companies must move beyond "green marketing" and make systemic changes in their environmental strategies and management policies. He notes that such changes will be made as corporations discover that consumers now clearly demand practices that lead to a cleaner environment. Piasecki is director of the Environmental Management Program at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, founder of the environmental consulting firm American Hazard Control Group, and author of "Beyond Dumping" (1994) and "In Search of Environmental Excellence" (1990). He uses Union Carbide, ARCO, AT & T, and Warner-Lambert as in-depth case studies to show that more is needed than mere regulatory compliance, how improved technology is more instrumental than regulation in achieving environmental goals, how multinational corporations may be better than countries at effecting change, and how environmental concerns can drive product development.