Investing in Sustainable Firms: Cavco Case Study

Abstract

Through the course of our undergraduate work the theme of corporate social responsibility has been an issue across different business classes. We have discussed the matter from marketing, management, and accounting and financial view points. In spite of the different definitions and desires for corporate responsibility, we have found that people seem to think that it is an important aspect of any company. We have taken an investing approach to this idea to examine a company's sustainability practices. First we attempted to provide our own definition of what it means for a company to be sustainable, from more than a merely environmental perspective. Specifically, we analyzed Cavco Industries' sustainability endeavors to illuminate what role they played in their overall business and how it may or may not enhance their value shown by their stock price. We have concluded that sustainability, particularly for Cavco, is becoming more the norm and more expected and as such has become a new area of competitive advantage for many firms.