I follow GOOD magazine on twitter and have been receiving tweets about the first ever GOOD 100, which celebrates the most exciting entrepreneurs of the year. So I went to their site and spent some time exploring the companies that are changing the way we live.

Each of them is brilliant and inspiring in their own right (I thought Umair Haque’s entry was spectacular), yet what really excites me is the fact that these companies are being celebrated.

It’s one thing to applaud a CSR, best practices or green initiative by an existing brand (either building their image or compensating for past practices). It’s another altogether to celebrate new companies that have positioned themselves smack bang in the middle of the positive change space.

Suddenly the usual challenges that attend company growth – innovation, expansion, and profitability – all take place in and around businesses that benefit us all.

And by supporting them we are not just enabling companies of change to be born, but we are giving birth to entire industries of change. (We see this already with bio and green tech).

As more and more industries like this are born, what constitutes a ‘for profit’ business and drives the engine of capitalism will shift from a focus of self interest to the greater good of all.

The multiple global crisis we face (energy, the environment, climate change, the disparity of wealth between rich and poor, water as a resource, education, women’s rights) demand a wider definition of self-interest that includes the well-being of everyone on the planet.

This is not idealism but simple expediency as the planet we live on, the resources we use and the way we do business cannot survive indefinitely with today’s crises.

That work of change must be done before it’s too late. Especially since the lessons of September 2008 seem to have been again forgotten so quickly if Wall Street profits and pay are any guide.

Our survival, well-being and wealth depend on new companies, industries and a global economy built on sustainable practices (in every sense of the word). So here’s to GOOD magazine for celebrating entrepreneurs whose vision for their future includes transforming ours.

NOTE: In light of recent discussions around FTC blogger rules, I should point out this is not a sponsored post, I have no financial or “gift” relationships with any brands including GOOD Magazine, and I have no ghost writers for my posts. I just think GOOD Magazine is doing something really powerful by celebrating this next crop of entrepreneurs (as do Forbes, Inc, Businessweek, Fast Company, CSRWire, WSJ). So here’s to the GOOD 1000! Or 10,000!