Long-time University business professor Michael Russo just released his new book, a guide to sustainable business covering more than 100 companies, some new and some well-established.
“Companies on a Mission: Entrepreneurial Strategies for Growing Sustainably, Responsibly and Profitably,” published last week by Stanford University Press, is about how companies create and pursue business strategies that are successful in the marketplace. It’s not simply about economic profits, Russo said.
The book mentions or profiles 150 companies worldwide, ranging from South Korea to Mexico to Oregon, which required Russo to interview business owners around the word.
“It was a ball writing this book,” he said.
Businesses need to be sustainable because consumers want to know what they are buying, Russo said.
“I want people to learn that it’s an enormously powerful movement much greater than an impact on the (gross domestic product),” he said. “We should pay attention to the companies from which we’re purchasing goods and services.”
The drive for companies to be more sustainable is a growing movement.
“What constitutes as sustainable business practices is changing rapidly,” said Tom Osdoba, managing director of the Center for Sustainable Business Practices.
Oregon is a leader in sustainable business practices, Russo said, not just at the University, but in the state.
“So many companies are coming to Portland. This is where the environmental ethos is at,” Russo said. He said there are also many sustainable companies in Eugene, such as Nexius, which takes donations of leftover goods.
The University is also a leader in sustainability, Russo said. The business school’s Lillis Business Complex, which opened in 2003, uses solar panels and is also LEED certified.
The University’s Center for Sustainable Business Practices was founded in 2008. The business school does not yet offer a major in sustainable business, but it does offer an MBA in Sustainable Business Practices.
There is also a student group undergraduates can join, the Sustainable Business Group, which was founded in 2001. The current co-presidents are undergraduates Jessy Burris, who joined in 2008, and Hakon Khajavei, who joined the group winter term.
When companies are sustainable, it is a win-win-win situation for companies, consumers and society as a whole, Khajavei said.
“Having sustainable products doesn’t necessarily sell it as well, but makes customers think, and value the product more,” Khajavei said.
Sustainable businesses also influence society.
“When businesses are taking steps in a more positive direction, people are going to follow that,” Burris said. “If it starts to get more widespread, it will cost less.”
SBG has about 20 members, and is expected to continue to grow, the co-presidents said. There is also talk of a sustainable business practices class that should be offered at the business school within the next year.
Russo, the management department head, has been teaching at the business school for 21 years. He taught the business school’s first course on sustainability in 1994.
“It’s wonderful to be a part of this genuine movement on campus,” Russo said. “Everywhere you look, folks are interested in sustainability. People are interested in coming here. It’s a magnet for talent.”
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