The Green Executive was conceived and written as a manual for the new breed of senior businesspeople who want to guide their organisation to an environmentally sustainable future. So here’s a handy checklist of behaviours, knowledge and skills required of green business leaders to give you an idea of whether you’ve got what it takes.

• Do you understand the business case for sustainability as it applies to your business?
• Do you understand the risks of inaction and the risks of action?
• Do you have a vision ie do you know what you are trying to achieve and by when?
• Can you communicate that vision in environmental, economic and practical terms?
• Can you frame that vision in a form which inspires your colleagues, customers, suppliers and other stakeholders?
• Are you smart enough to see how to align sustainability goals with business opportunities and vice versa?
• Are all your personal actions and decisions compatible with delivering that vision?
• Do people trust you to do what you say you will do?
• Are you hard headed enough to push ahead with sustainability even when it gets difficult?
• Simultaneously, are you smart enough to circumvent problems rather than run headlong into them?
• Are you prepared to make mistakes and learn by doing?
• Are you committed enough to kill off profitable products, projects and activities which are incompatible with your vision?
• Can you hold colleagues’ feet to the fire, even when it hurts?
• Are you crafty enough to know which buttons to press and with whom?
• Are you a creative problem solver, able to see the bigger picture?
• Are you big enough to be honest about what you have achieved and what you haven’t?

OK, out of 16, how many did you get? If it’s less than 16, then maybe you should read the book!