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In the context of growing awareness within investment circles, that sustainable enterprises are successful, this paper critically explores the attributes of companies that adhere to sustainable development principles. The paper maintains that enterprises that adhere not only to the primary business factors such as production, service capacity, financial and cost structures, market, demand, etc, but also adhere to the sustainable development factors embracing economic, environmental, and social market trends and needs, have better long-term growth prospects.

This paper gives a detailed overview of a number of criteria that can be used to screen sustainable enterprises, and shows how sustainability screens can be constructed to assemble sustainable development funds. The sustainable enterprise has three essential characteristics:

• Global awareness: sustainable enterprises recognise the plethora of emerging opportunities available in global markets and prepared in advance to take hold of them ahead of their slower competitors. Equally, they recognise emerging threats in their markets and react proactively to protect themselves.
• Environmental performance: a sustainable enterprise has a good understanding of the relationship between business and environment, and of practical eco-efficient tools, as well as a capacity to formulate and communicate environmental policies and strategies in order to achieve bottom-line results.
• Social responsibility: these include such practices as ethical business conduct, respect for its employees, clients, and suppliers, improving the quality of life and encouraging a participatory approach to local decision-making in communities where it operates, promoting social advancement, job creation, human rights, and democratisation in national arenas where it has a major presence, among others.
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