What’s driving business to go green? Resource constraints are forcing the issue, for sure. But, as Green to Gold co-author Andrew Winston reminded SB’08 attendees today, so are we. Each one of us is a stakeholder in business in some way or other - as a company owner, consumer, employee, or member of any number of organizations. The number of groups asking the tough questions about corporate environmental and social performance is growing, growing more diverse, and growing stronger, Winston said. Here are just a few of the major players, what they’ve been up to recently, and why you should be paying close attention.

Media and opinionmakers. Media coverage of environmental issues is broadening and deepening every day, NBC Universal’s Green Week, in which a week’s worth of programming carried environmental messages, to the launch of Planet Green, the first 24-hour cable channel dedicated to living a greener lifestyle. Launching a new network takes tens of millions of dollars, Winston pointed out. Advertisers must be making a big bet that this green thing isn’t going away.

Consumers. Consumers are seeing green in every aspect of our lives, and it’s changing their perspective. In a recent survey, conscious consumers identified what they consider the most important factors in choosing a product. Quality and price, predictably, came in first - but were followed closely by where a product made, its energy efficiency, health benefits and, finally, convenience. Where we’re headed is that ‘quality’ will be soon be redefined to include some of these other attributes, Winston predicted. Every product, sooner or later, will carry data on climate impact, resource efficiency, health and safety, and recyclability.

Employees. The workforce is more mobile than ever, giving top talent more choices - and making it harder for companies to attract and keep them. Companies with strong records on environmental and performance issues appear to have an edge, though. Elite MBAs say they consider corporate responsibility when choosing where to work, and undergraduates seem even more convinced. A whopping 92% of new grads say want to work for a green company, according to a recent Monster.com survey.

Risk assessors: The spike in VC investment for clean tech may be grabbing headlines, but have you heard of the Carbon Principles? By agreeing to consider environmental risk factors before lending money for new power plants, banks are in effect saying that they no longer want to supply funds to regular coal plants. Just over half of electricity in the U.S. comes from coal plants, but banks are saying no, that’s it, Winston noted. What’s the next thing risk assessors decide isn’t worth funding anymore?

Developing markets: India and China are growing wealthier, and their citizens are demanding a more Western lifestyle. At the same time, resource constraints are reviving fears of a Malthusian-scale meltdown. As the cost of operation rises, companies that can find ways to drastically improve efficiency will gain access to the world’s largest and fastest-growing markets.

Competitors: The growing trend toward greater transparency, coupled with a fast-paced internet culture, is pushing companies in a greener direction whether they like it or not. One brief example: The website for Dole Organic just added a video tour of one of the company’s farm in Costa Rica. If others in your sector start offering this kind of functionality, will your business’s reputation suffer by comparison? This is just the kind of transparency that oil and gas companies don’t want, Winston observed. As this trend toward greater transparency spreads to other industries, it’s bound to raise everyone’s standards for environmental and social responsibility.

~Emily Rabin Cowan, SLM Managing Editor