Sustainable Business: People, Planet and Profits in the 21st Century

Sustainable Business: People, Planet and Profits in the 21st Century offers a rigorous yet accessible guide to what business is for in an age of climate crisis, inequality and stakeholder capitalism.Moving beyond the idea of firms as mere 'efficiency machines', it argues that businesses are problem solving organisations that must balance effectiveness, efficiency and ethics if they are to create value for investors, society and the planet. Across ten chapters, the book traces the evolution of business goals, introduces a pluralistic theory of the firm, and shows how purpose, stakeholder engagement, organisational structure, leadership and culture shape sustainable performance in practice.It synthesises classic and contemporary thinkers - from Coase, Friedman and Penrose to Freeman, Sen and Serafeim - and brings these debates to life through detailed case studies of Unilever, Danone and other global firms grappling with Environmental, Social and Governance trade offs. Later chapters exp