Politicians love to bash business as the source of all evil in the world, but in fact business is one of the greatest of all forces for good, employing workers, creating wealth, and, increasingly, through adopting business practices that drive a social vision. W. Vito Montone, co-creator of BrandU, recently returned from the 2nd Annual Conference of Conscious Capitalism, sponsored by the Conscious Capital Institute (CCI), with some interesting insights about this trend that every participant felt is about to become a tsunami that will change business forever.

Says Montone, “The conference brought together top players from both academia and business, from places like MIT and Harvard Business School and major companies like The Container Store, Stonyfield Farms and Whole Foods. While I knew that conscious business was becoming more common, I did not know that major schools are beginning to offer courses about it or that they see this as something every company should actively embrace.”

Conscious business, also called conscious capitalism, is when a business chooses to imbue every aspect of its operations with practices grounded in the universal values of sustainability and respect thoroughout their stakeholder eco-system. For instance, Stonyfield Farm set out to change the dynamic of corporate dairies, where cows seldom live more than three years and, because of a diet designed for maximum milk production, produce large quantities of methane gas, which has been pegged to climate change. In contrast, Stonyfield Farm’s cows live four times or more as long and produce almost no methane.

Study after study has shown that companies who practice this conscious adoption of business methods that resonate with their own—and their customers’—values, have consistently outperformed the Standard and Poors index measure of growth, and by huge percentages: 1111% vs. 122% growth. Moreover, these companies spend less on marketing and advertising because the word of mouth is so good. Gross margins are typically ten points higher than other businesses, and the savings in marketing costs can go directly to business process improvements and higher wages, earning employee loyalty as well. The Container Store’s conscious commitment to its customers and its employees has put it at the top of FORTUNE magazine’s list of top 100 places to work for the past 11 years in a row—and it did not lay off a single employee during this recession.

“Perception of the role of business, and its ability to do things we know need to be done, is changing,” says Montone. “People aren’t necessarily looking to government for the answers. They’re rolling up their sleeves and simply making it happen. I had no idea that everything we’ve been developing over the past twenty years, and the past seven specifically with BrandU, was really at the forefront of this wave. In fact, we complement CCI by filling a niche that’s outside their core focus.”

CCI, explained Montone, is by its very nature focused on the top end of the business spectrum. BrandU is and always has been focused on micro-businesses, those under a million dollars per year in gross revenue. Yet the principle is the same, and can be—arguably should be—embraced by every entrepreneur and small business owner.

“The vision comes from within,” says Montone. “We have always taught that your business, your brand, arises from your values, your connection to it, and your vision of the impact your company has. We’re not talking about donating one percent of your revenues to charity. We’re talking about choosing a way of “being” in your business that makes conscious capitalism work.”

Montone came away from the conference excited. “This dialogue we’ve been having with our Members is about to become a major movement,” he says. “We’ve always said that small business will save the planet. How you do that—how you use the power of your brand—is unique to your business, so there’s no right or wrong way to go about this. We guide people how to become that in all that they do in their business, and they will be forever happy, more successful, and more impactful when they do.  And really, that’s conscious capitalism in a nutshell.”

The old ideas of get rich quick or that business is necessarily an “I win, you lose” proposition are fading in the light of this new realization that business can be a force for good for everyone—especially the owner/entrepreneur. According to Montone, every individual can become a conscious capitalist. BrandU has long been a pioneer in guiding small businesses in how to become not only successful, but a positive force for change. It is, he says, a matter of discovering the spark within, rolling up your sleeves, and creating the changes you want to happen.

One business at a time.  — S.B.