摘要：

Sustainability is fast becoming a strategic issue for businesses in all sectors. In the last five years a number of companies in the natural resources sector have completely redefined their business strategies in line with principles of sustainability i.e., balancing the requirements for economic development, environmental quality and social justice. Examples are many including Interface, Nike, Wal‐mart, and the Wyoming energy company, Enercrest. In all cases strong leadership and a willingness to embrace societal values and the needs of stakeholders external and internal to the firm have been key components of the strategic redefinition. Today the mainstreaming of sustainability thinking at Boardroom and CEO levels goes well beyond the natural resources sector. International examples of visionary thinking and corporate re‐invention include Collins and Aikman (flooring), The Body Shop and Aveda (cosmetics), Patagonia, REI and Timberland (clothing) and DuPont and Dow (chemicals). Internationally, Toyota, Honda and Mercedes leads the automotive sector, TESCO and Marks & Spencer lead in the retail sector and consumer brands such as Home Depot and Unilever are involved. In tourism, Xanterra Corporation, the Yellowstone National Park concessionaire sets a strong example. Many start‐ups incorporate sustainability into their core competencies. Other companies are adopting more incremental approaches, taking significant steps towards re‐aligning their businesses and product offerings. Not all re‐inventions and re‐alignments have been successful; Monsanto lost their way and in doing so created significant challenges for other firms in the biotech sector; Mitsubishi, Nestle, McDonalds face significant challenges in rehabilitating their reputations for environmentally and socially sustainable business behavior. Similarly the nuclear power and coal industries face significant challenges in developing credible sustainable business platforms and communicating these to skeptical stakeholders.

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