February 8, 2018 Ray C. Anderson Foundation

It All Started With a Book.

Ray Anderson's 1994 epiphany began when he read The Ecology of Commerce. Here are some other titles we suggest. Welcome to our Book Club.


Mid-Course Correction: Revisited  The original book by Ray C. Anderson, relaunched in 2019 as Mid-Course Correction Revisited, is both a how-to and a why-to on the future for green business. A fresh look at Ray's original telling of his spear-in-the-chest epiphany features new updates, six new chapters by John A. Lanier, and a new foreword from Paul Hawken.  This book still offers the best vision of what the prototypical company of the 21st century would look like.

The Ecology of Commerce Revised Edition: A Declaration of Sustainability, Paul Hawken, 2010

The book that started it all! Hawken's words became Ray's epiphany, and they continue to show that business and industry must take the lead in advancing environmental sustainability.

Business Lessons from a Radical Industrialist, Ray C. Anderson, 2009

Ray was indeed a radical industrialist. This book shows why that's a good thing. Ray tells the full business case for sustainability, proving that for Interface, sustainability was so right, so smart.

Biomimicry: Innovation Inspired by Nature, Janine M. Benyus, 1997

Nature is awesome. How awesome? This book will answer that question. Benyus shows her readers just how much better nature is than humans at...well...just about everything.

Thinking in Systems: A Primer, Donella Meadows, 2009

An introductory book for anyone who doesn't yet know how to be a systems thinker. This book will change how you see the world, and Meadows will give you the tools you need to make a meaningful impact on any and every environmental and social issue.

Blessed Unrest: How the Largest Social Movement in History Is Restoring Grace, Justice and Beauty to the World, Paul Hawken, 2007

All across the world, people and organizations are dedicating themselves to solving our most pressing environmental and social challenges. Hawken tells their stories, and in doing so, proves that we really can help to heal this planet.

Ishmael: A Novel, Daniel Quinn, 1992

This novel will make you think hard about what it means to be human and how we interact with the planet. Does the world belong to humanity, or does humanity belong to the world? And yes, there is a right answer to that question.

All We Can Save: Truth, Courage and Solutions for the Climate Crisis, Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson, 2020
 
As Dr. Wilkinson is fond of saying, the climate crisis is a leadership crisis. She and Dr. Johnson lift up the women who are trying to solve both, and this edited volume of essays and poems by feminist leaders in the climate space is a breath of fresh air for the climate movement.
 
 
Winston is back with more brilliance, this time telling the story of Unilever's trailblazing sustainability work under the leadership of the green business icon, and his fellow author, Paul Polman. If Ray Anderson were still alive today, he would have been telling every business person he knew to read this book.
 

The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History, Elizabeth Kolbert, 2014

Biodiversity loss is occurring at an alarming rate today, and we are primary contributors to that problem in surprising ways. Kolbert does a brilliant job of spotlighting how sensitive so many species are to how humans live on the planet.

Introduction to Modern Climate Change, Third Edition, Andrew Dessler, 2021

Science! This book is the best we have found at explaining climate change in full, ranging from the physics of how our climate changes to how humanity is driving that change to the policy decisions that could help limit our impact.

Green to Gold: How Smart Companies Use Environmental Strategy to Innovate, Create Value, and Build Competitive Advantage, Daniel Esty and Andrew Winston, 2009

Esty and Winston provide an easy-to-read and detailed playbook on why it’s smart to make business green, what steps to take, and what pitfalls to avoid along the way.

Let My People Go Surfing: The Education of a Reluctant Businessman, Yvon Chouinard, 2016

The story of Patagonia and its legendary founder. As seen in this book, Patagonia's corporate values align closely with those of Ray and Interface.

What’s Mine Is Yours: The Rise of Collaborative Consumption, Rachel Botsman and Roo Rogers, 2010

A brilliant book exploring "Collaborative Consumption," or what is often called the "Sharing Economy," which will be a significant accelerant to the development of the circular economy.

Doughnut Economics: 7 Ways to Think Like a 21st Century Economist, Kate Raworth, 2017

It's time to rethink the field of economics, and Raworth shows just how refreshing new thinking can be. She envisions a world where our economic systems are in service to humanity and natural systems, not the other way around.
 
 
Another green business must-read from Winston, this time with an eye to the present and the future. We know the most significant macro trends that are unfurling across the world right now, and this book beats the drum for what businesses should be doing now to respond to them.
 
 
Ray Anderson turned heads by proving that sustainability was a strategic imperative for the world of business and industry. Doherty, Makower, and Mykleby successfully show that sustainability should be THE strategic imperative for the United States of America.
 
Operating Manual for Spaceship Earth, Buckminster Fuller, 1969
 
A friend once told me to read this book as if it were poetry, and she was so right. Though small in stature, this little book is a foray into the mind of one of America's most brilliant thinkers. Fuller couldn't have chosen a more perfect title for this important book.
 
 
For far too long, how we construct buildings has been part of the climate problem. Can we reinvent construction to become part of the climate solution? The answer is a resounding yes, and King and his co-authors will show you how.
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