For executives who question whether their industries will be affected by growing stakeholder activism and consumer expectations, Savitz concedes, "some industries can make more hay from sustainability efforts than others." But he argues that every business will be affected in some way — with opportunities to benefit from introducing new products, tapping into new markets, or reducing risk and cost in significant ways.

Even those without obvious CSR concerns today may find things are different tomorrow. "Not that long ago, people would have considered banks to be a pretty low-impact industry," says Yale's Winston. "But banks have taken a lot of heat for the things they finance, and many have agreed to review their project finance loans according to environmental criteria. The financial community has said, 'Hey, we do have a role in this.' You never know."

Kate O'Sullivan is staff writer at CFO.

Best in Class

After examining 1,100 companies' performance in eight categories — community, corporate governance, diversity, employee relations, environment, human rights, product, and total return — Business Ethics magazine released its seventh annual list of the best corporate citizens last spring. The list was compiled by averaging the companies' scores in each category. — K.O'S.

Who Should Care?

In the book Green to Gold, Yale University's Andrew Winston and co-author Daniel Esty describe the businesses that could see the most upside potential from developing an environmental study. They include companies with:

• High brand exposure (consumer-products companies)
• Big environmental impact (mineral extraction, heavy manufacturing)
• Natural-resource dependence (fish, food, forest products)
• Current exposure to regulations (chemicals, utilities)
• Increasing potential for regulation (automobiles, electronics)
• Competitive markets for talent (service sector)

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