This concept got attention back in the 1980s, when a host of companies, notably premium ice cream maker Ben & Jerry's, gave a portion of their profits to charity and used social and ethical criteria in their business relationships.

Others talked about the "double bottom line" - measuring not only profits but also the social and environmental impact of the business. The ideas behind this movement flowed into the mainstream under the catchword "sustainability."

John Browne, chief executive of BP Plc, talked about this in the world's second-largest oil company's "2003 Sustainability Report."

"To be sustainable," he wrote, "a company cannot exist in isolation but must recognize and manage its wider impact and its contribution to society."

In other words, sustainability considers whether the business benefits the world in the long run, providing a product, service and shareholder return while also considering and disclosing the impact on the environment, workers, or society.

The crux of the matter is whether a company can pursue these goals of sustainability without sacrificing profits - or, to put it in a more positive light, in a way that also benefits the bottom line, say, though energy conservation or other cost-savings measures.

So BP talks not about the need to do away with oil, which might be a long-term goal of true sustainability, but rather of increasing energy efficiency to reduce greenhouse gases.

DESIGNING SUSTAINABILITY

Two years ago, architect William McDonough and chemist Michael Braungart wrote about this in their book, "Cradle to Cradle: Remaking the Way We Make Things" (North Point Press).

The title was instructive, for it made the point that products should be designed to be remade into something else at the end of their life. That way they would avoid ending up as waste, as in a cradle-to-grave approach. The book itself was printed on a waterproof synthetic "paper" made of plastic resins and inorganic fibers, which could be "broken down and circulated infinitely in industrial cycles - made and remade as 'paper' or other products," the authors wrote.

Wood paper, in contrast, is biodegradable, but often contains coatings and polymers, inks, and heavy metals that cannot always safely be composted or burned. So reusing it, or disposing of it, can result in social or environmental costs.

McDonough and Braungart argued that the burden of sustainability should not lie with the consumer, who just wants to buy a good product. Rather it should be designed into the process, so that it is nearly invisible.

Consider Atlanta-based Interface Inc., the world's largest carpet maker, which leases its floor coverings to customers so that it can recycle its products. By reducing its waste, it has saved $231 million since 1995.

The company also said that by cutting the amount of material in its carpet, even while making it more durable, it saved $113 million in four years beginning in 1995.

Since 1996, Interface has seen its energy use in fabric production drop by 31 percent, while water use per square meter of carpet has fallen by up to 78 percent. Its use of petroleum-based materials has declined by 28 percent since 1994 - all because of its conscious approach to sustainable design.

ENTREPRENEURS' DILEMMA

This may seem like an unrealistic goal for the entrepreneur who is staying up all hours, tapping credit lines, mortgaging the house, and constantly trying to save and expand the business. After all, it's difficult enough just to make a profit.

But some companies, built with sustainability in mind at their inception, have found that the approach has been the key to growth and profitability.

An example is the La Farge, Wisconsin, farming cooperative selling milk under the Organic Valley label, the largest U.S. enterprise of its kind. It was set up to provide a fair price to small farmers for their product, thereby providing economic sustainability in rural areas.

It has pursued that goal by focusing on a premium market: organic milk.

"We're not in this business to see how cheaply we can sell this product," Chief Financial Officer Mike Bedessem said. "We're in this business to make sure our members get a fair return for their efforts." Farmers produce milk without antibiotics, growth hormones and synthetic pesticides, as organic rules require and which consumers support.

Prices to farmers are about 40 percent higher than those for conventional milk, providing an economic livelihood for smaller farms and the incentive for them to remain ecologically sensitive .

Sales at the cooperative, which started in 1988, topped $156 million in 2003, supporting more than 600 farms in 16 states.

Sustainability was at the root of the enterprise - in the actual farms - but it was also the core of this business, in the way it has developed and marketed a high-growth product.