Few Wall Street analysts, for example, have tried to assess how much damage Wal-Mart's reputation for poor labor and environmental practices did to the stock price.
New sets of metrics, which Innovest and others designed to measure sustainability efforts, have helped convince CEOs and boards that they pay off. (DOW ) is increasing R&D in products such as roof tiles that deliver solar power to buildings and water treatment technologies for regions short of clean water. GlaxoSmithKline (GSK ) discovered that, by investing to develop drugs for poor nations, it can work more effectively with those governments to make sure its patents are protected. (WMT ), long assailed for its labor and global sourcing practices, has made a series of high-profile promises to slash energy use overall, from its stores to its vast trucking fleets, and purchase more electricity derived from renewable sources. (GE ), who is betting billions to position GE as a leading innovator in everything from wind power to hybrid engines. The roster of advocates includes Jeffrey Immelt, CEO of General Electric Co. 24-28 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. It supplied the data for this BusinessWeek Special Report and prepared a list of the world's 100 most sustainable corporations, to be presented at the Jan. Innovest is an international research and advisory firm whose clients include large institutional investors.
Kiernan, CEO of Innovest Strategic Value Advisors. "Nobody has an idea when such events can hit a balance sheet, so companies must stay ahead of the curve," says Matthew J. Embracing sustainability can help avert costly setbacks from environmental disasters, political protests, and human rights or workplace abuses-the kinds of debacles suffered by Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS ) in Nigeria and Unocal in Burma.
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