Action or Aspiration?
Sustainability in the Workplace
The study surveyed 1,200 senior executives across Europe, North America, Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa. Twenty nine per cent of the respondents are CEOs. Fifty three per cent of those surveyed are from companies with an annual turnover in excess of $500 million.

» Click here to read the report (PDF)

Listen to a discussion on sustainability and profitability hosted by the EIU's Denis McCauley (Mp3)

“Without a mechanism that unites environmental, country, society and stockholders, any talk of sustainability is mere lip service,” says Kook Hyun Moon, CEO of Yuhan Kimberly, a South Korean healthcare and hygiene products maker. And this seems to be precisely the problem with many companies’ sustainability efforts today. While sustainability has made its way onto the agenda, it is too often guided by regulation or the need to respond to immediate vulnerabilities.

So, how many businesses today go beyond talk? And do corporate boards believe sustainability programmes can have a positive effect on the bottom line? BT and the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) asked these questions in a new study entitled Action or Aspiration? Sustainability in the Workplace.

The findings
The EIU survey revealed that many executives are not ready to view sustainability as part of an overarching strategy for success. Almost half (46 per cent) said that sustainability programmes helped improve brand value, but only 20 per cent felt that sustainability programmes could improve profitability. Almost one-third admitted that their company’s sustainability efforts focus on communication, rather than actual change.

“The link between sustainability and commercial success is, without doubt, becoming clearer all the time…”
– Francois Barrault, CEO, BT Global ServicesFor some companies, not understanding the potential of sustainability as a comprehensive business strategy can be far worse than just a missed opportunity. Type “greenwashing” into any search engine to see examples of companies that have had their reputations irreparably damaged by the practice of “jumping on the sustainability bandwagon” solely as a marketing tool.

The case for sustainability
That a majority of executives see sustainability goals as inherently at odds with profitability should come as no great surprise. Programmes for activities such as reducing a company’s carbon footprint often originate in the form of mandates. But as more and more companies are discovering, many goals associated with sustainability actually save, or make money. <
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> Take flexible working, for example, which can have a profound effect on emissions by reducing travel while providing cost savings in terms of office resources. Or who could argue that getting employees to turn off their computers at night doesn’t positively influence both emissions and costs? <
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> ”The link between sustainability and commercial success is, without doubt, becoming clearer all the time,” say’s Francois Barrault, CEO, BT Global Services. “Our own sustainability performance is helping us win deals, create new offerings and build enthusiasm amongst our workforce.”

Sustainability defined
The UK government-commissioned Stern Report in 2006 firmly established that sustainability is not just about environmental issues, but has three main elements: environmental, social and economic.

• Environmental sustainability covers a range of areas all aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of an organisation.
• Economic sustainability refers to business practices that help an organisation continue to prosper.
• Social sustainability refers to organisations contributing to the development of the organisations they affect.

The way to sustainability
While it’s certain that every company must define and approach sustainability goals in its own way, some lessons can be applied to help get organisations on the right path:

• The board and CEO must give sustainability goals their full support.
• Goals must be built into annual reporting and gain shareholder approval.
• Policies need to be embedded into day-to-day business practices across the enterprise.
• Must have a transparent means of gauging success.