It seems more and more executives are thinking about the lives of their great grandchildren here on planet Earth. There’s no doubt that “sustainability” is trendy – it’s been a hot topic for a few years now.  It’s also time consuming and is something that people will hold you accountable for. It’s definitely not easy. But, according to a new report, it appears that many public companies, like Dow Chemical, Ford Motor Co., General Electric, Intel and Weyerhaeuser Corp. have taken great strides in reporting their sustainability efforts.  

How do we know? Corporate sustainability websites for one. Eighty-six percent of companies on the Standard and Poor's 100 Index now have one, compared to just 58 percent in 2005, according to the "2008 S&P 100 Sustainability Report Comparison" from the Sustainable Investment Research Analyst Network (SIRAN).

How were the companies judged? They looked at whether the company had a separate sustainability website section, annual report, GRI references, GRI content, goals and benchmarks, and did so in accordance to GRI guidelines.

Sustainability reports are also on the rise – there were 26 percent more produced last year than three years ago. KLD Research & Analytics Inc., performed the research.

The good thing is this: when companies report progress on environmental, social and governance issues, they usually adhere to more rigorous reporting principles, similar to the Global Reporting Initiative. They also can identify sustainability concerns and opportunities, such as risk mitigation and profit potential, which every company can benefit from.

Most complex problems have complex solutions. Take for example global warming. This is a tough one – perhaps one of the toughest we have ever faced. When we look at the landscape and the issues, what do we see? Who are the players and who can make the most impact at solving the problem? Without question, one of those key players are lending institutions. The question is this: Are they still financing old energy? The answer is yes.

Some U.S. banks like Citigroup, J.P. Morgan and Morgan Stanley however are making more environmentally-friendly lending decisions. Others, like Bank of America, are putting their own price-tag on carbon emissions even before Congress does.

Surprisingly, foreign banks like the Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, and HSBC aren’t being as proactive. Reports indicate they have financed more than $30 billion into the coal industry in the last two years.

But what responsibility do banks really have? I think they have a great deal of responsibility. Whoever holds the money always does. It’s been that way forever. And most people would agree. Twenty years ago, Barclays bank faced boycotts because of its financial involvement in apartheid-era South Africa. Eventually, banks that finance polluters could see the same public reaction – it doesn’t take a lot to start a revolution.

Of course, most banks are independent businesses and have to be able to turn a profit and please stockholders. This is true, but, the rules of business are changing. All businesses are now going to be held to greater scrutiny when it comes to global warming and its effects.

In order to reduce emissions and greenhouse gases, we need to go “upstream,” to the oil companies, power plants and others who produce fossil fuels. Banks, indirectly, are on that list.