Last week, the 2011-2012 Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) was released, and it must have been a bit of a shock to Coca-Cola, Hewlett Packard, and Microsoft to see that their names were not-so-inconspicuously left off the list.  But they’re not alone.  They’re in the company of 20 other firms who were dropped from the index, while 41 new firms were added to the list.  In our mind, there really couldn’t be a more compelling example of how being sustainability creates competitive advantage.

The DJSI, established in 1999, was the first index to provide investors with a benchmark to help them make sustainability-related investment decisions.  Since then, the index has become one of the most influential lists of companies aspiring to be leaders in sustainability—and garner the support of investors in the process.  This year’s DJSI is comprised of 342 companies that have been compared to their industry peers and score in the top 10% of their industry based on numerous economic, environmental and social metrics.  If companies are dropped from the list, it means they underperformed relative to their industry peers.

For Coca-Cola, it must’ve been a doubly tough pill to swallow to see that rival beverage company, PepsiCo, came in as the industry leader of the food and beverage sector.

But the deletions of these green corporate titans and the addition of up-and-comers, such as local favorite Air Products and Chemicals, can only be good for the cause of sustainability.  It shows that companies cannot afford to become complacent when it comes to sustainability.  Because as we’ve been saying for a while at iSpring, if you’re not willing to step up and be a sustainability leader, there are plenty of other companies out there that are, and those companies may attract your consumers and investors as followers.

It’s tough staying on top, especially when competitors are getting more savvy and charging head first towards sustainability.  In the May issue of The Sustainability Buzz, we talked about the need to set the bar higher when it comes to measuring sustainability, and this is due in part to the fact that more and more companies, as witnessed by the movement in the DJSI, are reaching the targets that were previously established as criteria for being sustainable.  If companies want to stay on top, they’re going to have to continue to find innovative ways to move the sustainability needle farther.

And you can bet that’s what will be front and center of Coca-Cola’s mind in the next year.  As they work to get themselves back on that index, it can only serve to benefit the entire cause of sustainability.  Because for as hard as they’ll be pushing to get back on that index, so will their competitors to retain their own coveted spots, and a rising tide of sustainability lifts all boats.