The Good Company

The Good Company is a selection of companies from around the world that are making an effort to treat their employees with respect, contribute to their communities, repair our ecosystems while making a profit. The book is written in plain easy to understand prose in order to appeal to a broad range of readers. Among the companies included are companies in the manufacturing and service sectors. I would have liked to have seen at least one company that is in the food or beverage sector. Perhaps this would be something that could be added to the next edition.

The Good Company offers up an enlightening and encouraging thesis: Profitability and corporate responsibility are not mutually exclusive. Non-profits do not have the corner market on going out into the world to do good and for-profit businesses do not have to slash and burn in the pursuit of the almighty dollar. With each case study about companies who are philanthropic in nature, or especially benevolent to their employees, etc. I couldn't help but wonder, "But isn't all of this just a marketing ploy? Are we only hearing from the happy employees? What are they not telling us?" Of course when I got to the last chapter I saw that these doubts were addressed by the acknowledgement that we do need some kind of policing of claims from companies since consumers have been burned before. Maybe if that were addressed earlier in the book that nagging distrust could have been alleviated? Consumers are sick to death of seeing pictures of a CEO presenting a check to rag wearing orphans with a big smile on his face only to hear that he is secretly doing something awful behind the scenes. Is it truly philanthropy if you get something in return or is it just bartering for goodwill and PR? I respect the acknowledgement by the owner of Give Something Back who said people aren't making good companies just out of the goodness of their hearts but because customers are now demanding it. This book with its numerous case studies of successful and responsible companies and concepts such as the quadruple bottom line, that being responsible doesn't have to come at the cost of profits, illustrates that ethics and sustainability shouldn't be afterthoughts or marketing tools but just part of doing business. I will most definitely bring this thesis forward into my professional life as gives me proof that I am not doomed to walk into the world leaving big, heavy, ugly footprints in the Earth when I conduct business but instead can tread lightly.

My daughter shared this book with me. It has a lot information that I did not know about major companies.

The idea that companies can be profitable and still act in responsible ways to their investors, employees and the environment has been around for some time. However, the reality is that most companies large and small go for the bottom line first, and then put out an obligatory statement which says that they are a green company, when in reality they are not. The Good Company provides excellent evidence that some companies actually support environmental sustainability while they make a good profit for stakeholders. Professor Girling's specific examples of responsible companies provide a breath of fresh air(pun intended)for weary environmentalists. An implied message in The Good Company seems to be to ask what can we be proud of when we pass on, that we made a lot of money, or that we left the place where we lived in better shape than when we found it?Why not achieve both?

Girling takes the time to really showacse the details that make a medium company into a good company. On the surface, any company can try to look good, but Girling takes us right to the CEO, right to the customer, right to the environment and right to the employees and demonstrates in a compelling manner us what a good company really is. It makes the reader want to be part of each good company that is examined.

I am an international student and I am just finishing my Bachelor Degree in Tourism Management/Business. I found this book really useful resource to my studies. The author uses lot of interesting case studies which makes it easy to read and understand. In addition, it helps to understand the bigger picture of contributing something back to your community while working in a company.

The Good Company is the best resource that I have found for use in my seminars that train social entrepreneurs. I work with all kinds ofentrepreneurs and it is wonderful to be able to cite these examples of companies doing such a good job both with social and environmental practices. I highly recommend it to all aspiring entrepreneurs. Its a compendium of inspiring stories combined with practical advice, and highly readable.Mary O'ConnorPresident, The Institute for Social Entrepreneurship

I am an ESL teacher who teaches business to foreign students. I have been looking for resources on Global Businesses that make a difference. The Good Company does exactly that.--It helps students see that there are a growing number of companies like Give Something Back and Kiva that are not all like Exxon Mobile or Goldman Sachs. These companies are working to make the world a better place against all odds.