Not a day goes by when a company doesn’t contact me about its latest “green” initiative. I don’t doubt that most are well-intentioned. But it’s difficult to know whether, individually or taken together, they are making much difference. I wonder which is moving faster-the scale and scope of our environmental problems, or the responses from business?

Xerox is, no doubt, a company that takes sustainability seriously. (In fact, I’m pleased that the company’s dynamic president, Ursula Burns, will be speaking at Brainstorm Green, Fortune’s Earth Day conference about business and the environment.) When Xerox announced that it had plans to sell paper certified by the Forest Stewardship Council, I decided to look at the question of impact in today’s CNNMoney.com column. Here’s how it begins:

Almost everyone applauds when companies adapt green practices. But will those practices make a meaningful difference to the environment?

Take this week’s announcement about paper from Xerox. Xerox, one of the world’s largest suppliers of office paper, says it has achieved “chain of custody” certification so that all of its 80 distribution centers in the United States, Canada and Europe can sell paper that meets standards set by the Forest Stewardship Council. The FSC is the gold standard of paper certification; paper with the FSC seal of approval is produced in ways that preserve forests, wildlife and waterways by manufacturers who pledge to uphold decent working conditions.

You can read the rest here.