Publications

Latin America is a continent with immense economic and human resources and enormous potential for business initiatives that could create jobs and could permit higher incomes for the population. Nonetheless, development in most Latin American countries was static and often sporadic. In “The New Rules of the Game” [Las Nuevas reglas del juego], the authors analysed the reasons for this economic and political underdevelopment and pointed to possible solutions for sustainable economic and social development.

The Business Council for Sustainable Development (BCSD), founded by Stephan Schmidheiny, published this book in the run-up to the United Nations Earth Summit in Rio in 1992. It analysed the compatibility of economic growth with environmental protection and suggested solutions for transforming the costs of careful handling of natural resources into advantages for industry.

In this book, the authors combine three disciplines: economics, physics and international business policy. The aim was to find an answer to the important question of whether sustainable development is possible and how it can be achieved. The concept of sustainability is subject to the laws of physics and at the same time includes economic efficiency.

In Financing Change, Stephan Schmidheiny and Argentinean entrepreneur Federico Zorraquin were the first to analyse the subject of sustainable development and its evaluation by the financial markets. The book summarises the views of various players in the financial markets and from this ascertaining the need for evaluating ecological aspects as a fundamental variable in the financial markets and in financial planning.

​Known as the ‘White Paper’, scarcely any other political non-fiction book in Switzerland has triggered such an emotional debate. This 1995 publication – the title of which translates as ‘Boldly Embracing New Beginnings: an Economic Policy Agenda for Switzerland’ – was compiled by David de Pury, Heinz Hauser and Beat Schmid, and signed by sixteen other leading representatives from the fields of business and science. It is now often identified as having launched the debate on reforms in Switzerland, and cited as a point of reference.

​The title of this publication asks how new things take hold in the world. How do ideas and models take shape, and what is it that leads to discovery? All questions for philosophers, perhaps, but they can be approached from an entirely different angle when managers, scientists, politicians and artists give their answers. The result is then an anthology that seeks to promote creativity as well as the productivity of German companies, and to resolve specific problems. Compiled by Siemens CEO Heinrich von Pierer and business consultant Bolko von Oetinger, this book features contributions from 35 well-known personalities from a range of different areas.

Though capitalism has won the competition of systems, on the way, dramatic imbalances in the distribution of wealth arose. Many people feel left behind. In “The Ownership Solution”, the authors showed how through more property, more people can be included in economic development.

In “Walking the Talk”, the authors argued that sustainability is crucial for business success. Applying some 70 examples of companies from around the world, they demonstrated that the three pillars of sustainable development - economic growth, ecological balance and social progress - improve both business results and the world.

“Worlds Apart” presents a cohesive set of essays on the theme of globalisation and its impact on the environment. Published by Gus Speth, one of the world’s leading experts on international environmental issues, the book shares the outlooks of ten globally respected experts on the social and ecological aspects of globalisation.