NYT had a great article a couple days ago called Solving A Social Problem Without Going the Non-Profit Route.

I’m using the term Corporate Social Opportunity to refer to businesses with a desire to do well by doing good. CSR, or corporate social responsibility, only goes so far… it often refers to what a business should stop doing (stop wasting resources, stop turning a blind eye to unfair labor practices, etc.) but it doesn’t truly address the opportunity at the intersection of profit and social good.

The NYT article focuses primarily on start-ups, but plenty of established companies fall squarely in this realm. Whole Foods is a good example, and even Walmart, which is already making an impact in packaging, detergent and consumer electronics industries to be more sustainable.