Book excerpt: Businesses are entering the green marketplace at breakneck speed to keep pace with customer and societal demands to reduce their environmental impacts. But greening one's business is no small feat. While clear opportunities abound in this new economy, business leaders pursuing a green strategy are finding few roadmaps and established rules and plenty of hidden twists and turns. So, how does a company succeed in a world gone green? In Strategies for the New Green Economy, Joel Makower, one of the world's foremost green business experts, provides a clear roadmap for this challenging terrain. Makower offers insights and inspiration gleaned from his 20 years' experience helping Fortune 500 companies and start-ups alike formulate strategies that align environmental and business goals. Providing a comprehensive and realistic look at both the opportunities and challenges, Strategies for the New Green Economy shows how leadership companies are finding their way in the green economy, while their competitors struggle. Strategies for the Green Economy systematically tackles the central issues of greening your business: What does it take to be seen as an environmental leader? What are the standards, implicit or explicit, that you must meet to be green? How do you communicate what your business is doing right--and what it's doing wrong? How can you overcome consumer, media, and activist distrust? How can your company be heard amid the “green noise” in the marketplace? What are the new opportunities emerging for companies in the green economy? Including groundbreaking data about customers' attitudes and behaviors regarding green products and services, Strategies for the Green Economy will lead you through the thicket of finicky customers, confusing research reports, and public cynicism regarding green marketing claims--and place you on solid footing in the growing green economy.