ABSTRACT
To understand what sustainability means for business advantage, there can be no better guide than the business strategist. Environmental strategist Andrew Hoffman lists four areas in which mitigating environmental risks can help a firm avoid significant business costs. Business strategists Michael Porter and Claas van der Linde make a compelling argument in favor of this view: "the costs of addressing environmental regulations can be minimized, if not eliminated, through innovation that delivers other competitive benefits. Strategists have long seen the potential for environmental and social performance to drive deep innovation. The strategist is far more interested in under what conditions sustainability becomes a source of value creation. The strategist wants to know which of the levels of value creation are available to the company. Managing sustainability-related business risks is not so much about value creation as it is about avoiding its destruction. Sustainability pressures create new market opportunities when businesses and consumers demand solutions for their environmental and social problems.
