Do no (significant) harm and do good

• At a minimum, companies engaging in sustainable business practices are expected, with respect to environmental sustainability, to prevent and minimise the negative environmental impacts of their business operations. This expectation is commonly labelled “do no significant harm”.
• Responsible companies aim to prevent negative impacts arising from their business operations with regard to social sustainability as well as economic sustainability and good governance. This expectation is labelled “do no harm”.
• A company can also actively generate positive impacts in all areas of sustainability, labelled “do good”, through its activities. Regenerative business practices, which are increasingly emphasised, aim to restore environmental and social systems or improve their ability to regenerate themselves.

The larger the company, the greater the expectations placed upon it. The sustainability measures expected of companies depend on factors such as company size and ownership.

Larger companies are expected to do more than smaller ones, and companies owned by public authorities (such as the state or municipalities) are generally expected to do more than privately owned companies.