What's good for a company's bottom line can also be good for the environment.

But a recent survey finds that while interest and enthusiasm for energy efficiency is high, companies are lagging when it comes to making those improvements. One reason: our turbulent economy. With tighter budgets and uncertainty about when energy efficiency investments will be recouped, business leaders are taking a wait and see approach.

The Johnson Controls survey finds that more than 70 percent of business leaders are paying more attention to energy efficiency than they were a year ago. But because of the recession, less than half of these leaders say they expect to invest in energy efficiency.

The Obama Administration's commitment to effective climate policy is attempting to break that log jam. Nearly 45 % of those polled say utility or government incentives are very or extremely influential in making energy efficiency decisions.

With good policy measures, enthusiasm for energy efficiency could translate into gains for business bottom lines and for the environment.