In the past decade, more companies have discovered that as they become more environmentally friendly, they become more financially attractive-a corporate makeover of sorts. As their numbers have increased, so has the evidence supporting their claims.

For example, a study by professors Michael Russo of the University of Oregon and Paul Fouts of Golden State University revealed firms with the highest return on assets went beyond competitors in terms of pollution control and waste reduction. Also, the environmentally sensitive financial analysts at the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Index discovered stocks of companies that account for their social, financial and environmental impact outperform the stocks of companies that don't. That study was supported by one by Innovest Strategic Value Advisors finding companies with superior environmental performance generate superior financial performance. And Vanderbilt University found that 80 percent of environmentally sound companies financially outperform their higher-polluting counterparts.

As these studies shore up Lovins' claims, natural capitalism is pushing its way into the pantheon of strategic planning. Yet the concept remains young (read: relatively unknown); therefore, most entrepreneurs stumble onto it. What starts as a concern for the environment and for government regulation evolves into sound management strategy, as employees and franchisees of Brian Scudamore's $10 million 1-800-GOT-JUNK? discovered.

Each year, franchisees of the company pick up tons of junk, primarily from homeowners who want to throw things out-after spring cleaning, for example. They haul away old TVs, wood, appliances and furniture. If Scudamore didn't care, they could just take the junk to municipality transfer stations to get dumped. End of story.

So to protect the environment and earn more money, 1-800-GOT-JUNK? recycles cardboard, paper, concrete, sheet rock, metal, tires, furniture, garden refuse, and the list goes on. "Our target is to recycle a minimum of 40 percent of all loads," Scudamore, 31, says. But there's even more to it than that.

"We've turned our recycling system into a profit-share system," says Scudamore, noting that greed-once environmentalism's perceived nemesis-can potentially be its ally. "Our people get 20 percent of all the savings from what they recycle. Instead of paying $120 to dump a load, they may pay $70 as a result of recycling. It's win-win-win for the company, the franchisee and the environment."

http://www.entrepreneur.com/magazine/entrepreneur/2001/November/45262-2.html