Guild communities often share tips for books (old and new) that have informed their thinking or changed their approach to professional topics. We'll be sharing recommendations from various Guild groups in this "Best books for..." series. We're also listing them on a uk.bookshop.org shop, which means we will earn commission on any of these links. The commission earned will be donated in full to our chosen charity, Bookmark.

Delivering Sustainability in Your Business is a Guild community for sustainability champions at all levels - whether you're a professional in the sector or just want to learn to make your business more sustainable. The group's host Catherine Weetman has made it a place to turn to for peer support, knowledge sharing and expert contributions.  If you're a professional who wants to make a sustainability impact in your organisation - whatever the size or sector - here are some of the titles that the community recommends for your sustainability reading list.

Guild member view: "Probably one of the best books I've read on redesigning our economy, the last chapter is really insightful and provides some changes we can make now with technology that is readily available"

Guild member view: "Essential foundation reading to help inform and guide in a really digestible way"

Guild member view: "Some great nuggets of economics, history, finance and of course the case for GND"

Guild member view: "I was really inspired by Dale Vince, the founder of Ecotricity, and his story"

Guild member view: "The New York Times bestseller "How Bad are Bananas?" by Mike Berners-Lee picks out a highly diverse mix of 100 articles or activities, giving an analysis of the carbon footprint of each. It demonstrates the challenge faced when trying to gather this sort of information. Very few things have the same carbon transparency as buying a tank of fuel to drive somewhere. There are unexpected inputs, hidden subsidies and incalculable interactions which make something's actual carbon footprint differ radically from the expected. "How Bad are Bananas?" nails it and reading it confers a basic level of carbon literacy on the reader - but it doesn't spare them from having to guess at the cradle-to-grave carbon footprints of all the other things the book doesn't cover!"

Guild member view: "I learned to 'try to gain a different perspective' and how policies can be short-sighted from Green Gone Wrong"

Not all recommendations come with a comment but the following are all positive recommendations from Guild members - we'd love to hear your comments if you agree (or disagree) or have another title to add.

You can view the full list (which we'll continue to update) and join the Delivering Sustainability in Your Business community to share your own recommendations.

Green Swans: The Coming Boom in Regenerative Capitalism - John Elkington

The Future We Choose - Christiana Figueres and Tom Rivett-Carnac

All We Can Save: Truth, Courage, and Solutions for the Climate Crisis - Ayana Elizabeth Johnson and Katharine K. Wilkinson

Greener Marketing - John Grant

How to Avoid a Climate Disaster - Bill Gates

Net Zero: How We Stop Causing Climate Change - Dieter Helm

Animate Earth: Science, Intuition and Gaia - Stephan Harding

Trust Inc.: How Business Wins Respect in a Social Media Age - Matthew Yeomans

Drawdown: The Most Comprehensive Plan Ever Proposed to Reverse Global Warming - Paul Hawken


Guild is an affiliate of Bookshop.org and will earn a commission if you click through and make a purchase on any of the links to books in this post. Any commission will be donated in full to our chosen charity, Bookmark.  They're a literacy charity giving children the reading skills and confidence they need for a fair chance in life, through a flexible volunteer-led programme. You can register as a reading volunteer or find out more about Bookmark's work and impact.

Photo by Liya Shin on Unsplash


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