ABSTRACT
This chapter investigates the business case for sustainability— defined here as the returns to investors, for companies identified as leading the way on sustainability within their industry. These Sustainability Leaders were first identified 18 years ago, in 2001, in prior published work. The analysis is updated to see how the Class of 2001 have fared in the 18—year period, and it is found that they have delivered superior returns to their investors compared to benchmarks. These findings and general progress in corporate sustainability over this 18-year period are discussed, using Actor—Network Theory as a theoretical toolkit. The idea of a Sustainability Leader, as a concept, is challenged and an alternative interpretation is developed. This requires a decentring of the organizational subject and places organizations within an actor network. Agency is not taken away from the organization, but the limitations of focusing too much at the organization level of analysis are explored. Sustainability Leaders as organization—investor—tool assemblages may not slip off the tongue as easily, but it may be more helpful and enrich our understanding!
