CORPORATE SUSTAINABILITY MANAGERS GAIN MORE INFLUENCE

Sunday, November 16, 2014 - 11:00am

(3BL Media/Justmeans) – Businesses today face greater economic, social and environmental challenges than ever before. Right from the government, stakeholders and down to the consumers, there is a growing pressure on companies to conduct business in more sustainable ways. To achieve success in this climate, companies are increasingly adopting a more sustainable business approach.

A recent global survey carried out by Verdantix, an independent sustainability research and analysis firm, has revealed that sustainability managers in high-revenue companies around the world are being given more authority and responsibility. The survey tracked 260 sustainability managers from companies with revenues ranging from $250 million to $20 billion.

More than 90 percent of the respondents in the survey reported directly to the company CEO or another member of the executive committee. The number of CEOs who believe that sustainability issues impact their bottom line has grown by one-third to 28 percent. Overall spending on sustainability has also increased across the companies.

The size of their budgets varied significantly, but 65 percent of the respondents said their budgets ranged between $1 million and $2.5 million. Sixty percent of the respondents expected companywide spending on sustainability to increase. This reflects a growing trend whereby the budget of the sustainability team accounts for about 10 percent of companywide sustainability spending.

The topmost priority for most sustainability managers was health and safety, with 92 percent of the respondents citing it as ‘very important’ or ‘important’. Energy and environmental management was nearly an equal priority, with 90 percent considering it as very important or important.

The survey covered sustainability managers from 13 regions, including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Mexico, the Middle East, Russia, South Africa, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The respondents were chosen from 21 industries ranging from business and financial services to manufacturing and retail.

Source: Edie