November’s issue of Inc. magazine launched its inaugural listing of sustainable for-profit businesses, called “The Green 50.”

Inc.’s reporters and editors selected 50 companies in eight categories:

* Industrialists, featuring the only public company, Interface (NASDAQ:IFSIA), maker of flooring products. CEO Ray Anderson, age 72, has committed to taking net resource consumption to zero, and participated in the 2006 Clinton Global Initiative.

* Integrators, like organic winery Frog’s Leap, wind-powered New Belgium Brewery, “cradle-to-cradle” skateboards by Comet, and organic-based lawn care franchisor NaturaLawn.

* Converts, like detoxifying the worst offenders Pantheon Chemical a 2004 EPA award-winner, environmental consulting firm GreenOrder, sustainable stationery maker New Leaf Paper, and fresh fast food chain Burgerville.

* Pioneers, such as responsible forest-grower Collins Companies, green-product maker Seventh Generation which reviews its own supply chain for environmental and social performance (hurray!), and sustainable food companies Eden Foods (soy milk), Clif Bar, and Stonyfield Farm (whose strategic partnership with Group Danone spurted its growth starting in 2001).

* Builders, like green pre-fab housing supplier Michelle Kaufmann Designs, building systems reengineer IBC Engineering Services, and bamboo floor/panel supplier Teragren.

* Road Crew, including electric-(sports)car maker Tesla Motors, trucking fuel-saver IdleAire, and flex-car renter ZipCar.

* Futurists, with ethanol-producer and Vinod Khosla-backed Cilion, home power storage manufacturer/lessor Gridpoint (”TiVo for electricity” they say), and clean-energy transformer CoalTek.

* Recyclers, featuring corn and potato utensils (SpudWare) by Excellent Packaging and Supply, mobile device recycler ReCellular, and producer of recycled personal-care products Recycline.

While the recognition highlighting these 50 is certainly positive for Human Impact and Profit, it would be even more powerful to see companies ranked more specifically on their OUTCOMES, like Health, Wealth, Earth and Equality. Inc. magazine - and the companies themselves - should consider methodically analyzing each firm’s HIP-ness, just as it does with its revenue-growth metrics for its annual Inc. 500 (and now Inc. 5000) ratings.

WHAT HIP MEASURES ARE APPROPRIATE?

Each Green 50 firm could be rated on its Health, Wealth, Earth and Equality outcomes - and then ranked relative to its peer group or overall. For example:

* HEALTH: Employee sick day percentage (possibly lower than average for green companies); average health-care spending per employee (HIP practices and policies encourage better employee health and lower spending and premiums); impact of products on customers health (lowering their health-care costs and increasing their quality of life and life expectancy).

* WEALTH: Growth in employee wealth (high-growth triggers higher incomes and bonuses, and possible stock options boost assets of employee families and households); growth in customer savings (when there’s green synergy of both environmental and cash savings, customers benefit economically - and spread word of mouth); growth in supplier business (the value chain is one of the most powerful impacts of a growing green business).

* EARTH: Carbon intensity and usage (lower usage per person or per product, increasingly more systematically measured); track record of recognition or lack of punishment for green practices and outputs; and net resource usage (of water, materials and other inputs, which boost both profits and sustainability).

* EQUALITY: Customer, employee, supplier and society distributions are all categorically similar (gender balance, ethnic balance, income class balance), triggering high participation and involvement, and discovering new markets and products; access to products easy for all types of potential customers (no matter their background or situation).

WHAT DO YOU THINK?
What other types of HIP measures would be relevant across companies and industries? Which companies not yet listed should be on Inc.’s Green 50?

The inc.com website also has recommendations for 23 planet-saving products and 10 ways your company can save the environment.