Time to Vote for Sustainable CEOs

It's not easy being a CEO these days. Yes, they typically make pretty good money, but money doesn't necessarily buy happiness. That said, think of all the weight on CEOs' shoulders. Among the many pressures of their jobs — like worrying about profitability in an economy that's still languishing — they must also be concerned with how their companies' products and services impact the environment, particularly as people come to the increasing realization that humans might just be having a negative effect on the planet.

Triple Pundit, a site that "cultivates awareness and understanding of the triple bottom line," which refers to the bottom line of "people, planet and profit," has been polling its readers to determine a top 10 list of sustainable CEOs, to highlight the leaders people think are doing the right thing. How is a CEO's sustainability judged? According to Triple Pundit, they wanted people to choose CEOs "who are achieving both superior shareholder value and leadership results in restoring our environment and addressing social ills."

Of the nominations they've received since January 7, Triple Pundit yesterday put together a list of 37 CEOs to choose from to decide on the final top 10, which you can find here. The names include Yvon Chouinard, owner/founder of Patagonia; Lee Scott, former CEO of Walmart; John Mackey, co-founder and CEO of Whole Foods; and Eric Schmidt, chairman/CEO of Google.

You can vote at the website or at Twitter (using the hashtag #topceo and mentioning @triplepundit). And don't forget to add your comments, which will help flesh out the reasons why the particular CEOs making a difference in the business community deserve to be celebrated.

Photo courtesy of stock.xchng