The Business of Sustainability: What It Means to Managers Now
By Maurice Berns, Andrew Townend, Zayna Khayat, Balu Balagopal, Martin Reeves, Michael S. Hopkins and Nina Kruschwitz
September 25, 2009
How are sustainability pressures altering the competitive landscape, and how are businesses responding? The first annual Business of Sustainability Survey and interview project found answers.
Sustainability is garnering ever-greater public attention and debate. The subject ranks high on the legislative agendas of most governments; media coverage of the topic has proliferated; and sustainability issues are of increasing concern to humankind.
Key Findings
REVISED AGENDA
The survey revealed a strong consensus that sustainability is having — and will continue to have — a material impact on how companies think and act.
- More than 92% of survey respondents said that their company was addressing sustainability.
DOWNTURN?
Sustainability is surviving the downturn.
- Fewer than 25% of survey respondents said that their company had decreased its commitment to sustainability during the downturn.
BUT ACTION LAGS
Although almost all the executives in the survey thought that sustainability would have an impact on their business and were trying to address this topic, the majority also said that their companies were not acting decisively to fully exploit the opportunities and mitigate the risks that sustainability presents.
- The majority of sustainability actions undertaken to date appear to be limited to those necessary to meet regulatory requirements.
- Almost 70% of survey respondents said that their company has not developed a clear business case for sustainability.
AGGRESSIVE ACTION YIELDING REWARDS
A small number of companies, however, are acting...
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