Hop Compost (Hop) was a Canadian start-up that took food scraps destined for landfill and converted them to an organic, highly nutrient compost using novel, licensed technology. The company was approaching the end of its first year and facing two decisions. First, it had to decide whether to pursue third-party accreditation for its environmental and social impact. The accreditation would demand time and money but could help Hop with its growth plans. Second, the company’s founder wondered how to position Hop’s environmental and social impact to appeal to potential investors, who would be primarily interested in financial returns.

Enterprise-wide risk management contributes to better governance, yet despite the pressures, many companies are in no hurry to implement ERM. Despite pressures to do so, many companies have yet to implement practices for better risk management. Such practices, whether implementing Enterprise-wide Risk Management or putting better information in the hands of directors, greatly improve corporate governance, these authors discovered. Moreover, they make the risk manager's job much more important.