Park Howell, founder and President of Phoenix-based Park&Co, launched the eco-minded marketing company in 1995 to, as he describes it, “use my skills for good.” But, in 1998, Howell says sustainability found him when the City of Mesa, AZ, approached Park&Co to create the “Water: Use It Wisely” campaign. Some 15 years later, more than 400 different entities are using the campaign to spread the water conservation message. Now, Howell and his team use their storytelling prowess to engage consumers on various green-focused causes.

“We are all inundated with data and communication,” Howell explains. “Tweets. Blogs. Our brains turn off. But, once we touch someone through the power of story, then you’ve got their attention. Then they’re going to act on emotion.”

A career that began as a corporate sustainability writer transformed Bill Baue into one of the foremost corporate sustainability architects in the world. In 2007, Baue wrote Walmart’s first corporate sustainability report and launched a consultancy career looking into the eco-initiatives major companies should be endeavoring upon. In 2012, Baue co-founded the Sustainability Context Group.

“Sustainability is just a starting point,” Baue explains. “Once we have achieved sustainability, then we can go into true thriving — thriving without having negative impact.”

eRideShare.com founder and CEO Steve Schoeffler watched the Internet grow in the 1990s until he had a light bulb moment: Carpooling could be a natural way for people to connect online. Though the reach of the site was small when it debuted in 1999, its audience has steadily grown to 30,000+ monthly users as visitors have become more interested in ride sharing to spare money and resources. The free online service has created a social network of sorts for those looking for everything from regular commutes to one-time cross-country adventures.

“The United States is the chief emitter per capita of greenhouse gases,” Schoeffler says. “Carpooling is a way of immediately reducing your carbon footprint in a substantial way. It cuts on pollution, reduces traffic and gets you there faster.”

Brian Scudamore launched 1-800-GOT-JUNK 24 years ago as a means to pay for his college education, but as the company grew and one hauling truck in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, became more than 1,000 in the U.S., Canada and Australia, he never looked back. The company is projecting a record year in 2013 with $126 million (or more) in revenue as customers have learned to trust the brand as their go-to junk hauler.

“There’s too much stuff getting produced and thrown away,” Scudamore admits. “We’re consumer driven. We have to figure out as human beings how to continue to have things reused, and that is the core of our business.”