'Not about tree-hugging': Sustainability is simply good for business

Companies should be concerned about their environmental sustainability - but it has more to do with ensuring profitability than it does with saving the planet, according to president of Bluehorse Associates Sara Pax.

Bluehorse Associates is the maker of a tool for measuring environmental sustainability for the food industry called Carbonostics, which Pax claims can give food and beverage companies tangible information about which measures make most sense for business, as well as for the environment.

Consumer engagement should not be a top priority for companies, Pax said, as only a very small percentage of consumers change their purchasing decisions based on any environmental work that a company has undertaken.

She said there is a lot more that businesses can do for the environment and for profitability beyond those issues that are most prominent in the media.