Sustainability actions in companies have in many cases been driven by compliance. Regulatory requirements or de facto standards guide companies, but simultaneously also customers, partners and investors are looking at companies sustainability actions.
Leading companies have established a "standard" that other companies are looking as a measuring stick for their own sustainability efforts. If this trend truly drives companies efforts forward with good enough speed, it's all positive. However, just following others keeps the companies by this new transformational force or give the first mover advantage to competitors.
When evaluating sustainability efforts and opportunities beyond the compliance one of the first questions is naturally the business case or ROI. Are there measurable business reasons why we should invest in sustainability more than the regulation or de facto standards require or more than our closest competitors?