The S&P 500 Index includes 80% of market capitalization, so when a large majority of its member companies do something, it’s big news. Here's the story: 81% of them have published corporate responsibility reports in 2015, according to the Governance & Accountability Institute, a sustainability reporting firm. This compares with only 20 percent in 2011, when G&A began its analysis. Why does this rapidly growing, now critical mass of sustainability reporting matter?

Some large retailers doing good things in a big way have made headlines lately. Target announced that sales for its “Made to Matter” initiative totaled $1B last year. Now in its third year, the program includes a selection of healthy, eco-friendly brands within a dedicated area in Target stores and a marketing campaign. The products are goods that are “better for you, and your world.” Whole Foods plans to install 100 rooftop solar systems on its stores and distribution centers. SolarCity and NRG Energy will provide the resources for this ambitious program of renewable power sourcing.

When reading the business pages of mainstream media, it sometimes seems as if the headlines mimic the scandalous tone of the other news. Allegations, lawsuits, claims of fraud, and criminal prosecution are not uncommon in such business headlines, even among brands that have worked hard to earn profits with a purpose and therefore earn a good reputation.

These days, CSR is not only the common practice of large corporations with considerable resources. Small and mid-size businesses are getting in on the action as well. It makes sense that local companies, which depend on their local communities for customers, would embrace social responsibility as a matter of basic brand strategy. In small markets, transparency is a given; businesses known for treating their employees well, producing quality products, and investing in community development do well. But how do small and mid-size businesses know which CSR initiatives have sustainable impact?

“The first innovative thing we’ve seen in a long time,” says one health care professional. That “thing” is Intermountain Healthcare, a nonprofit health system in Salt Lake City that has set up a business model to cut health care costs—“sharply”—rather than pass them along in higher premiums. Its new health plan, SelectHealthShare, guarantees that it will keep yearly rate increases to one-third to one-half of the average, according to the New York Times.

In the same week that the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay of the EPA’s Clean Power Act, the Administration advanced its plans to increase solar use across the government by signing a deal to install solar panels on 18 federal buildings.

An energy bill to update the country’s power grid and oil and gas transportation systems is before the U.S. Senate—and it has support from both Democrats and Republicans. If you’re keeping count, it’s been 11 years (2007) since the last major energy law, according to the New York Times. The proposed bill has “wins” for both parties. It would require electrical grid operators to install new, large-scale storage systems for renewable power.

As sustainability reporting is integrated into mainstream reporting, more demands have been made upon the once-subsidiary activity to become as available and credible as traditional reports. Now, the distribution and benchmarking of sustainability reports are getting a big boost from a new partnership.

Hovering over the $3 trillion US health marketplace is the American Medical Association. Terms used to describe this largest association of physicians in the country range from “staid” to “monopolist.” Now the historically conservative organization is taking a big leap forward into the digital future by investing $15 million in a for-profit company, Health2047, according to US News & World Report.