1.1 Introduction

Why would Google invest in wind farms that will not provide any energy for its high-energy-consuming data centers? Founded in 1998, Google runs the world’s most popular Internet search engine. It’s a position that has earned Google high profits and has given it huge influence over the online world. Then why would it take a risky investment of millions of dollars on an activity outside its core business? And why would the US government provide tax credits to Google and other private companies to invest in renewable energy? Can’t the private market and profit-making interests of private businesses ensure that an adequate supply of renewable energy is produced in the United States and globally?

All businesses, including Google, must focus on their economic performance and ensure they are profitable and provide an attractive return on investment for their owners and investors. Without this, businesses cannot continue as ongoing entities. For Google and other companies, their most important “bottom line” is their own economic bottom line, which is their profitability, or revenue, minus expenses.

Yet it is clear from Google’s investment in wind farms and the activities of private companies all around the globe that many of today’s business leaders look beyond their own annual economic bottom line and act with concern for how their business activities affect the environment and the very existence and sustainabilityIn the natural world, sustainability is the characteristic of a healthy, diverse ecosystem to endure over time. In terms of our society, sustainability is a state of human satisfaction and prosperity that exists from generation to generation brought on through the balanced interaction of society, environment, and economics. of the world’s physical and human resources and capabilities. This is what this book is about.

All companies must operate legally and achieve profitability to continue as ongoing entities. All companies also embed and reflect in their decision making and activities the values and priorities of their owners, key managers, employees, and other stakeholders. As will be highlighted in this book, some companies, such as BP prior to the Gulf oil spill in 2010, focus on annual profitability and investment returns to owners more than others. Other companies, including Google, give priority to other values (besides profit making) and take into consideration environmental and sustainability concerns along with concern for annual profits. And other firms, such as Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Oakhurst Dairy, Simply Green, Timberland, Pax World, Seventh Generation, and Stonyfield Farms (as described in Chapter 7 "Case: Sustainable Business Entrepreneurship: Simply Green Biofuels" through Chapter 13 "Case: Strategic Mission–Driven Sustainable Business: Stonyfield Yogurt" in this textbook), more fully integrate sustainable business practices into their mission and corporate strategy and try to gain a competitive advantage by doing this.

This book describes what it means for a business to be sustainable and to engage in sustainable business practices and why a business would choose to act in a more sustainable manner. The book will be of interest to students who are interested in understanding the role of sustainable businesses in the economy and society, in addressing environmental concerns, and in working for or starting their own sustainable businesses.

The focus of the book is on the experience, opportunities, and challenges for sustainable businesses in the United States. While the book does not provide detailed international examples in its in-depth case chapters (Chapter 7 "Case: Sustainable Business Entrepreneurship: Simply Green Biofuels" through Chapter 13 "Case: Strategic Mission–Driven Sustainable Business: Stonyfield Yogurt"), it does discuss the opportunities and challenges of US-based sustainable businesses operating globally, specifically in Chapter 5 "Entrepreneurship, Innovation, and Sustainable Business" and Chapter 13 "Case: Strategic Mission–Driven Sustainable Business: Stonyfield Yogurt". The objective is to expose students in the fields of business, science, public policy, and others to the ideals, opportunities, and challenges of sustainable business practices with examples and lessons from a diverse group of companies in different industries.