For this survey, diversity is defined as male and female minorities and white women but does not include gay and lesbian employees. For this survey, minorities are defined as those whose race is other than white/Caucasian (e.g., African-American/black, Latino/Hispanic, Asian and Native American).

At ClimateCounts.org, the nonprofit organization I direct, we score the world?s most well-known companies on critical benchmarks tracking their efforts to address climate change, and we rank them in relation to their major sector competitors. One of our essential metrics is the extent to which companies have disclosed on their climate activities to consumers, other stakeholders, and the marketplace as a whole. We believe companies truly leading in terms of environmental and climate action have a responsibility to engage consumers actively and openly in a discussion about challenges and successes from incorporating those actions into broader business strategies. Not accepting that responsibility leaves ever more conscious consumers unfulfilled in their efforts to align themselves with companies that reflect their own values?on global warming, on exposure of their children and themselves to toxics in toys and household products, and on the use of pesticides and other chemicals in food production, among scores of other issues.

As consumers become more deeply aware of not only the environmental impacts that can affect their lives but also the profound impact they themselves can have on the companies they buy from, the more they will demand that companies open up to them?not just completely, but enthusiastically. The dialogue developing between business and consumer is extraordinarily important. It improves our communities and our society as a whole. It makes business more accountable, less wasteful, and more profitable. And it establishes a loyal relationship that is mutually beneficial on many measurable levels. One certainly relates to environmental stewardship, another perhaps to human health. But most significant, at least as business is concerned, is the benefit that is economic

Business, of course, is not alone in its economic motivations. If you are reading this volume, you certainly have them as well. You?re on a quest for a job that will change your life. And like the consumers that ClimateCounts.org connects with every day, you?re seeking something that will help you live your values. What happens to make you unique from many other jobseekers is the way you expect your new job to enable you to change your world.

But how do you really change the world? It all goes back to transparency. As consumers demand more and more disclosure from companies, our society needs more and more disclosure from committed leaders. In other words, the best thing you can do for the world?and for your career?is to bring others with you by speaking openly and authoritatively about your concerns, your beliefs, and your values. Like companies that are beginning to understand why it is important to share their work with consumers because it helps them become market leaders in thought and action, so too should today?s jobseekers (and of course, tomorrow?s employees) share their best ideas and their most articulate insights about new frontiers of corporate responsibility in business. You have the power to change your workplaces by embracing the opportunity to lead.

You can lead your colleagues?but not with silence. As Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once challenged: ?Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.? As your career unfolds, you can establish yourself as a voice to pay attention to. You have to be willing, though, to say things of value when it seems no one else will listen. You have to be willing to express viewpoints that have yet to find their audience. You have to be ready to deliver the message rather than receive it.

You must be ready to lead.

Leadership is the place where green or climate-conscious innovations in business come from. When you?like the most well-regarded businesses in the marketplace?make your actions, your goals, and your commitment transparent to those around you, you will be a leader, and you will have defined your career path. When speaking about the changing dynamics of climate change and the role of individuals in influencing business, I often remind audiences that the quality of the societal conversation we can have on global warming today has improved dramatically from that of a year ago or certainly five years ago. I believe this is because of leaders: corporate leaders, nonprofit leaders, government leaders, and community leaders?all voices that have inspired legions of new activists to rise to the environmental challenges we face. Kudos to those like you who have responded to that call with grace and a profound sense of purpose. In your hands, the future will continue to be full of possibilities.