Leading companies adopt transformational strategies to improve their business, operating context and societal conditions. Here are case studies of the transformational company qualities in action around the world. Scroll through all of the case studies below or else click on a particular quality to learn about best practices in one specific area. If your company or you know of a company that demonstrates one of these qualities let us know.

AVIVA engages stock exchanges to create more sustainable capital markets

Aviva, a British multinational insurance company, is leading the way in efforts to get the stock exchanges more involved in sustainability issues. In late 2008 the financial crisis prompted the Chief Executive Officer of Aviva Investors to call for a debate with stock market listing authorities on corporate disclosure of material sustainability information.

H&M CEO, Karl-Johan Persson is a sustainability leader

H&M’s CEO Karl-Johan Persson is taking a leadership role to champion sustainability in his company and influence change in the wages of foreign supply chain workers. He leads the company’s sustainability plan which includes a fair living wage initiative. The goal is to ensure that all suppliers have improved pay structures for fair living wages in place by 2018, affecting around 850,000 textile workers.

IKEA & The Better Cotton Initiative

Swedish retailer IKEA is the founding member of the Better Cotton Initiative (BCI). The BCI is a multi-stakeholder organization committed to reducing the environmental impacts of cotton production, improving the livelihoods of individuals in cotton producing areas, and creating a demand for sustainability produced cotton. The goal of the BCI is to transform mainstream cotton production and support all cotton supply chain actors, from producers to retailers.

Loblaw Companies pursues sustainable products strategy

Loblaw Companies Limited (Loblaw), Canada’s largest retailer, is committed to providing customers with products that are healthy, nutritious, safe, local and responsibly sourced. As of 2013, all President’s Choice “Free From” poultry and pork are sourced exclusively in Canada and raised without the use of antibiotics or hormones; while the animals are fed a vegetable and grain diet.

Puma InCycle Collection and Bring Me Back Closed Loop Initiatives

In March 2013, Puma launched the InCycle collection which offers apparel, footwear and accessories that are 100% C2C (Cradle to Cradle) certified. All items in the InCycle collection are closed-loop and are either part of the 'Biological Cycle’, which means materials that are biodegradable/compostable, or the 'Technical Cycle’, which refers to materials, such as textiles and plastics that are recyclable.

Puma Pioneers the First Environmental Profit and Loss (EP&L) Statement

Sports apparel brand Puma pioneered and released their first Environmental Profit and Loss Statement (EP&L) in 2011. Puma’s EP&L, developed in partnership with PriceWaterhouseCoopers and Trucost, is an effort to transparently calculate the cost of its actions on the environment across the entire supply chain, following the traditional Profit and Loss Statement (P&L) approach.

SC Johnson “What’s Inside” Initiative

In 2009 SC Johnson, an American cleaning supply company, launched a “What’s Inside” initiative and website to inform consumers of the ingredients in their household products. The “What’s Inside” disclosure initiative increases product transparency and stakeholder accountability by making information about product ingredients easy to find and understand. This program goes beyond industry standards set by the household products industry “right-to-know” initiative

Sony’s Adoption of the Road to Zero Plan

Sony, a multi-national Japanese electronics company, has adopted the Road to Zero, a global environmental plan setting the company’s course to achieve a zero environmental footprint throughout the life cycle of its products and business activities by 2050.

Starbucks uses multi-stakeholder collaborations to address systemic barriers and challenges to recycling.

Starbucks Corporation (Starbucks), an American global coffee company, is engaging stakeholders to design and innovate sustainable solutions for the environment. A key component of Starbuck’s “responsibility” strategy is to work with regional stakeholders (non-governmental organizations, policy makers, competitors and industry associations) to improve recycling and conservation of resources.

The Co-operators adopt an advocacy policy and strategy to combat climate change

The Co-operators, a Canadian financial services co-operative with over two million customers and $35B in assets under administration, has a vision to be a catalyst for a sustainable society. To advance this vision, they adopted an Advocacy Policy and Strategy in 2009 and have been focusing their advocacy efforts in climate change mitigation and adaptation (including flood resilience), healthy lifestyles and fire safety over the past five years.

Unilever Adopts a New Purpose – “To Make Sustainable Living Commonplace”

In 2009 Unilever, the world’s third biggest consumer goods manufacturer launched “The Compass” – their business strategy for sustainable growth. It sets out a vision of the company’s future, in which “our brands and services reach and inspire people across the world, helping us double the size of our business while reducing our environmental footprint and increasing our positive social impact”. The outcomes of Unilever’s business model are sustained growth; lower environmental impact; and positive social impact.

Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan

Launched in 2010, Unilever’s Sustainable Living Plan specifies three long-term commitments Unilever plans to achieve by 2020: To help more than one billion people improve their health and well-being; To reduce the company’s environmental footprint from making and using Unilever products by 50 percent, and; To source 100 percent of agriculture raw materials from sustainable sources.