The sustainability activities of leading companies are increasingly driven by financial considerations and other core business objectives, according to a recent survey of corporate sustainability leaders by Ernst & Young and GreenBiz Group. Environmentalists have long posited that being green and being economic are not mutually exclusive. Now it seems as if businesses are now coming around to that view as well.
The report, Six growing trends in corporate sustainability, discusses this and several other developments in sustainability.
In keeping with sustainability’s new focus on the bottom line, chief financial officers are playing increasing roles in their companies’ sustainability efforts.
- 65 percent of CFOs are now directly involved in company sustainability efforts
- 80 percent of respondents see revenue opportunities in sustainability
- 74 percent said cost reductions are the primary drivers of their sustainability programs
- 66 percent have seen an increase in inquiries about sustainability in the past 12 months from investors and shareholders
Business leaders are growing more aware of the potential scarcity of the natural resources their companies require.
Seventy-six percent of survey respondents said they anticipate that core business objectives will be affected by such shortages — including water — over the next three to five years.
Sustainability reporting is growing, but the tools are still developing.
About one in four survey respondents use packaged software to track sustainability efforts, but most still use spreadsheets, emails, and phone calls.
Source: Forbes
By Erica Gies