A strategy model for sustainable profits and innovation

Abstract

This analysis discusses the influence of corporate sustainability strategies and environmental regulation on the relationship between environmental and economic performance. The model presented here is supported by empirical analyses of the European paper manufacturing and electricity generation industries and of a selection of British and German manufacturing firms. The view put forward is that the potential for different industries to realise a win-win relationship between environmental and economic performance differs, but that a corporate sustainability strategy with an Environmental Shareholder Value and/or pollution prevention approach enables firms to move closer towards sustainability without jeopardising their competitiveness. © 2006 Springer Berlin·Heidelberg.