A new research report prepared by the Economist Intelligence Unit and sponsored by some of the US's leading companies including A.T. Kearney, Bank of America, ExxonMobil, PricewaterhouseCoopers and SunGard,has found that companies that have a corporate sustainability strategy have enjoyed a better share price performance than companies that don't.
The research was based on a survey of 1,254 senior business executives, including more than 300 CEOs.
However the link between share prices and sustainability may be a coincidence.
Generally speaking companies adopting sustainable business practices are larger companies with greater resources that attract greater investment but the survey nevertheless shows that a stong stand on issues like the environment and climate change do not necessarily impede operating or share price performance.
The survey found that companies implementing sustainability programmes were having a mixed success with programmes falling short of stated objectives. Many executives interviewed rated that the quality of their company's sustainability efforts as poor.
"The results of this research show that most companies are still working out what sustainability means for their business, and how to implement it," says Robin Bew, Editorial Director of the Economist Intelligence Unit. "At a basic level, a lack of consensus on what the topic encompasses results in an absence of relevant targets."
Other key findings from the research included:
- Business leaders are open to more regulation on social and environmental issues
- Communication, then the environment, are top corporate priorities on sustainability
- The supply chain is the weakest link
- Sustainability reporting needs more work
- Sustainability does pay.
Download the briefing paper Doing good: Business and the sustainability challenge free of charge by following this link http://a330.g.akamai.net/7/330/25828/20080208181823/graphics.eiu.com/upload/Sustainability_allsponsors.pdf
