The World Cup. The BP oil spill.

Both are reverberating around the world. But in one, you have a company who responded poorly to risk. In the other, you have one meeting it head on -- a soccer header if you will.

What exactly do the World Cup and the BP oil spill have in common?

Let's start with the oil spill, which has sliced about $90 billion off BP's share value to date -- the largest-ever financial meltdown from an environmental mishap.

And it's only one example of recent hidden risks that are increasingly bubbling into corporate bottom lines and making shareholders testy about companies' untracked social and environmental challenges. Massey Energy's stock has been in free-fall since its April coal mine disaster.

So where's the World Cup connection?

Nike -- and its athletic clothing line made from waste by-products. That's right. Those brilliant Nike jerseys sported by a number of teams, including Brazil, Portugal, Netherlands, U.S.A. and Australia, are made almost entirely from plastic bottles rescued from landfills in Japan and Taiwan.

You see it's all about hidden risks and companies' responses to them.

While BP and Massey are burying their heads in the sand, Nike is meeting its environmental and social risks head on. Even better it's turning those risks into opportunities.

Nike is one of a growing number of companies that are responding to environmental and social challenges. In a new Economist survey, more than two-thirds of global executives say there's a strong long-term link between sustainability and profitability.

But the complex challenges our planet faces require far deeper actions from companies. The shortcuts and poor decision-making that marked the BP and Massey disasters show that many companies aren't prioritizing environmental and social factors across their businesses. Short-term profit and myopic attitudes on long-term risk and opportunity still rule.

Investors have been prodding companies for years to get real about these risks. Shareholder resolutions on issues such as climate change, water scarcity and workplace safety have been rising in number and attracting record support.

It's time for companies to get proactive about these risks and recognize that embracing sustainability full throttle will make them more successful in the globalized 21st century economy.

Ceres has produced a roadmap to help companies achieve this goal. It includes 20 key expectations for governance, disclosure, stakeholder engagement and performance.

Here are some key highlights:

Governance: Sustainability begins with board oversight and a commitment to build management systems that embed sustainability practices. A specific board committee should have clear authority to review and make recommendations on pressing challenges and long-term strategies.