Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Higher Purpose in Sustainability Leaders

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Developing Sustainability in Organizations

Part of the book series: Sustainable Development Goals Series ((SDGS))

Abstract

This chapter explores the concept of higher purpose in sustainability leadership through examples of leaders and organizations driving long-lasting business transformation and sustainable prosperity. It highlights the importance of values in purpose-driven organizations and how they can help to align stakeholders towards a common goal. The bulk of the chapter features nine case studies of sustainability leaders with a higher purpose, including Wangari Maathai, Elinor Ostrom, Mohammad Younis, Vandana Shiva, Paul Hawken, Christiana Figueres, Gro Harlem Brundtland, Greta Thunberg, Autumn Peltier, Xiye Bastida, Paul Polman, and Ray Anderson. These cases demonstrate how these leaders integrated sustainability into their businesses and made a positive impact on society and the planet. Finally, the chapter identifies common elements of higher purpose in sustainability companies and provides guidance on how to assess the impact of higher purpose on sustainability leadership.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution
Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 129.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 169.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  • Anderson, R. (2009). Confessions of a radical industrialist: profits. St. Martin’s Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayana, E. J., & Wilkinson, K. K. (2020). All we can save: Truth, courage, and solutions for the climate crisis. Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Barrett, R. (2013). The values-driven organization: Unleashing human potential for performance and profit. Taylor & Francis.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Bridges, T., & Eubank, D. (2021). Leading sustainably: The path to sustainable business and how the SDGs Changed everything. Taylor & Francis.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brundtland, G. H. (2011). Daughter of the vikings: Growing up in Norway. University of Minnesota Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2004). Good business: Leadership, flow, and the making of meaning. Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkington, J., & Zeitz, J. (2014). The breakthrough challenge: 10 ways to connect today’s profits with tomorrow’s bottom line. Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Figueres, C., & Rivett-Carnac, T. (2020). The future we choose: surviving the climate crisis. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hardin, G. (1968). The tragedy of the commons. Science, 162(3859), 1243–1248. https://science.sciencemag.org/content/162/3859/1243.full

  • Hawken, P. (1993). The ecology of commerce: A declaration of sustainability. HarperCollins.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawken, P. (2007). Blessed unrest: How the largest movement in the world came into being, and why no one saw it coming. Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hawken, P. et al. (1999). Natural capitalism: Creating the next industrial revolution. Little, Brown and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, R. (2019). The business of changing the world: how billionaires, Tech Disrupters, and social entrepreneurs are transforming the global aid industry. Harvard Business Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Maathai, W. (2006). Unbowed: A memoir (1st ed.). Knopf.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ostrom, E. (1990). Governing the commons: The evolution of institutions for collective action. Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Polman, P., & Winston, A. (2019). Net positive: How courageous companies thrive by giving more than they take. Harvard Business Review Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quartuccio, D. (2021). On purpose leadership: Master the art of leading yourself to inspire and impact others. Lifestyle Entrepreneurs Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Quinn, R. E., et al. (2019). The economics of higher purpose: eight counterintuitive steps for creating a purpose-driven organization. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Shiva, V. (2005). Earth democracy: Justice, sustainability, and peace. Springer.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Sinek, S. (2011). Start with why: How great leaders inspire everyone to take action. Penguin Books Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thunberg, G. (2019). No one is too small to make a difference. Penguin Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thunberg, G. (2022). The climate book. Penguin Books, Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yunus, M. (2003). Banker to the poor: Micro-lending and the battle against world poverty. Public Affairs.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Management, University of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA

    Marco Tavanti

Authors
  1. Marco Tavanti
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Marco Tavanti .

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Tavanti, M. (2023). Higher Purpose in Sustainability Leaders. In: Developing Sustainability in Organizations. Sustainable Development Goals Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-36907-0_3

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation