With 2011 coming to a close and 2012 just around the corner, GreenBiz asked executives from a range of companies and organizations to reflect on the past year and look at what lies ahead.

They obliged by telling us about their accomplishments, goals, their thoughts about what will drive sustainability in 2012 and how they and their firms can do better in the coming year.

Here's what they said when we asked:

Where did you fall short in 2011, or what lessons did you and your company learn?

Neil Hawkins, Vice President of Sustainability and Environment, Health & Safety, Dow Chemical Company

We continue to learn lessons, along with the rest of the business community, about the divide between environmental/social issues and the appetite of markets to adapt, and sometimes pay, for new solutions that address those issues. Bringing innovations to market is a costly proposition filled with uncertainties -- economic and political volatility, lack of clear and consistent regulation, and lack of guarantees for ROI. Even facing these headwinds, we have learned to continue investing in a more sustainable future. Because these winds, too, will change.

Bart Alexander, Chief Corporate Responsibility Officer, Molson Coors

Our biggest lesson was to communicate what we're doing and where we are going in simple terms. Our people and our consumers are not interested in a lot of CSR or sustainability jargon. They want to know what we care about and what we're doing as a result.

So, we invented "Our Beer Print."  We all know that whenever you put a beer down, you leave a ring or "beer print" on the coaster or table. Just like that, our company leaves its beer print on our people, communities and the earth.  Our job is to grow our positive beer print, such as our investment in communities, and shrink our negative beer print, such as harmful drinking.

Adam Mott, Corporate Sustainability Manager, The North Face

We need to do a better job of further understanding and addressing our water footprint, including water use and wastewater treatment. The apparel industry is a heavy user of water and we need a stronger focus on this issue moving forward.

Alison Taylor, Vice President, Sustainability-Americas, Siemens Corporation

We knew that walking the talk was essential to our sustainability story, and to our relationships with customers. We may not have fully recognized the challenge of meeting the sustainability goals we set for our company before the economic downturn. The good news is, we can relate to our customers when they tell us about the tough choices they're making between energy efficient operational changes and other business priorities in this economy. We face the same choices. The bad news is, we would have wished to make more progress in meeting our own goals.  One lesson learned: The value of credible baseline data can never be underestimated.

Drummond Lawson, Green Giant (Director of Sustainability), Method

Rising commodity costs were a big challenge in 2011. Higher costs for energy, plant-derived oil feedstocks, and plastic resin impacted all of Method's businesses. Our response is to continue to seek out low-embedded energy materials, recycled resins, and to reduce our reliance on feedstocks like palm oil where possible.

Next Page: What lessons sustainability leaders from Sprint, USGBC, Avon, PepsiCo and more learned this year.