A wave of eco-innovation is rolling across Canada and on the crest of that wave is a plethora of green-savvy businesses working towards a more sustainable future.

Lloyd Lee, business development associate for Climate Smart,an organization that helps businesses build more sustainable models, says the benefits are two-fold.

“The biggest motivation is cost saving,” says Lee. “Working to reduce their carbon footprint ends up saving them money.”

But it’s not just about profit.Call it the Triple Bottom Line (people, plant, profit) or Corporate Social Responsibility-either way the concepts all distill into one message according to Lee.

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[Businesses] should be contributing to the environment rather then taking from it,” says Lee.

In January, a 15-member roundtable of Canada’s top “Green” companies addressed the challenges facing businesses going in a more sustainable direction. Andrew Wilczynski, director of Environment and Corporate Social Responsibility atTelus, and a member of the discussion, echoes Lee’s sentiments.

“It’s not just about the next quarter, it’s about making sure the business is sustainable in the long term,” says Wilczynski.

He says the concept of working for that social license to operate isn’t new-it’s the collaboration between businesses that is helping the movement gain momentum.

“The whole idea of CSR as a collective philosophy is new,” says Wilczynski.