Companies like Groupon, which rely on bargain-seeking consumers to spread the word, have enjoyed rapid growth. Mobile startup Solavei aims to become the next “social business.”

Editor’s Note: In an era of slow growth, smart companies seek to appeal to penny-pinching consumers while avoiding expensive upfront costs and capital expenditures. This article is the first in a series, The Austerity Economy, that highlights innovative business models that are attuned to the zeitgeist. Send your nominees for companies we should be highlighting to: business@newsweekthedailybeast.com.The slow-motion recovery is now in its fourth year.

Even companies with broad and aggressive environmental commitments are neglecting a core component of sustainability: worker health and safety. Heather Lang reports.

Apple's recent release of its iPhone 5 resulted in record-breaking sales—more than 5 million phones sold in the first weekend alone and a backlog of orders. Yet according to independent labor groups, peak sales are continuing to take their toll on workers at Apple`s largest supplier, Foxconn, despite elevated public scrutiny. Egregious working conditions at Foxconn, including at least 22 attempted worker suicides since January 2010, were brought to the forefront earlier this year, despite the reality that labor violations have long persisted.

The move toward sustainability is upending the old ways of doing business. These days, less really is more, says Newsweek Green Rankings Advisory Panel member David J. Vidal.

It’s getting harder and harder to be a significant business with a viable future these days. On top of the usual success factors of competitiveness, customer loyalty, process efficiency, access to capital, and talent, among others, there is this new idea out there called “sustainability.” At its essence, sustainability is about embracing a multidimensional basis for running a business—with environmental and social outcomes given more equal significance to financial ones.