TODAY we launch The Sunday Times Best Green Companies Awards, a celebration of how British business and industry are facing up to possibly the greatest global challenge.

Five separate contests covering companies big and small will be drawn together in The Sunday Times Green List, to be published next May.

We are seeking nominations from organisations that believe they are reducing their emissions and energy consumption, and which also recognise the crucial role employees play in making a company more environmentally responsible.

A unique two-part survey will test the credentials of competing companies. Those that are doing the most to change the way their business operates will win a place on the inaugural Green List, a benchmark for companies striving to be more environmentally friendly.

Judging success used to be easy. Companies were assessed mainly by their size, their profits and, of course, their growth. The basic benchmark of corporate success was simply to make more money for shareholders.

Now businesses, consumers and governments are having to deal with a new idea: that there could be a fundamental contradiction between our desire for growth and the long-term welfare of the planet.

Business decisions have suddenly acquired an ethical dimension. Building a new factory might be good for the bottom line but what about the environ-ment? Are these activities sustainable? Will they add to climate change?

Such concerns are also having a powerful commercial impact.

“People are beginning to vote with their feet, wanting to buy products and work with – or for – organisations that can show clear environmental credentials,” said Ken Smith, director of environmental management with Bureau Veritas, which has helped to devise the Best Green Companies awards with The Sunday Times.

The introduction of the awards acknowledges the lead British businesses are taking in tackling climate change. It is a competition no company can afford to miss.

Working with Bureau Veritas, one of the world’s premier environmental management consultancies, and Munro Global, the leading market-research group, The Sunday Times has produced a survey that asks challenging questions about environmental performance. In addition, employees will be asked how far corporate policies have been adopted by staff.

“You can put in place all manner of policies but if you are not communicating that to your staff, you will never win the game,” said Charlotte Cornish, chief operations officer of Munro Global.

Following the successful formula of The Sunday Times 100 Best Companies to Work For project, the views of employees will be pivotal to a company’s ultimate success and will account for 30% of an organisation’s final mark.

The first section of the survey collects information on environmental management, such as energy use, recycling and carbon footprint, but also allows organisations to describe their environmental objectives and efforts to increase awareness of green issues in the workplace.

Companies will be split into high, medium or low impact, depending on the environmental effect of their business.

We are not, however, looking for minimal carbon emissions. What we are really looking for is change, for the signs that a company is trying to define how it is affected by sustainability – and is taking action to deal with it.

For example, a cement company emitting tens of thousands of tonnes of carbon-dioxide each year could well be in line for an award if it has done its best to reduce those emissions compared with previous years.

Entries are invited NOW. Registration will remain open until February 29. Surveys must be completed and returned by March 31. The winners will be announced in May. Full details of how to enter can be found at timesonline.co.uk/bestgreencompanies.

The competition builds on the lead Britain has taken in tackling climate change. Sustainability reporting, nonexistent in 1990, has now been adopted voluntarily by 95% of the companies in the FTSE 100.

In the past many companies had tried to ignore such concerns, suggesting it was for pressure groups to worry about environmental impacts and for governments to regulate.

But today, investors are the new lobbyists – fund managers and analysts view a company’s response to climate change and sustainability as crucial factors in how they should be rated. Ethical funds now account for 15% of all investment sales so far this year, compared with 0.6% in 2005, according to the fund analyst Lipper Feri.

Such trends will see billions of pounds in investment heading towards companies that offer sustainability as well as profitability. A report from UBS, the investment bank, makes it clear that those that adapt fastest will be the ones to survive.

For those firms that realised the importance of sustainability early, there have already been rich rewards. Toyota has gained a bright green veneer through its Prius model, while Eurostar is winning new markets by selling itself as the low-carbon alternative to flying in Europe.

Behind them, however, lie many more businesses that want to be greener but are still finding their way. Airlines, for example, are struggling to reconcile expansion and growth with their environmental impact.

Similar problems face the oil and gas industries, carmakers and many other carbon-intensive industries.

What such businesses have in common is that they are old established industries, created in an era when climate change was just an academic discussion. It is hard to blame them for their history: but what are they doing now to reduce their impact on the environment?

There are, of course, other surveys that focus on companies’ environmental management and performance. But these are targeted at senior management – our results will offer an insight into how a company works to implement sustainability throughout its operations and how seriously it takes its pledges to be more green.

If you think, you are green enough, go to timesonline.co.uk/bestgreencompanies and follow the links. Nominations open tomorrow.