2Sustain

Over the next two years, the global sustainable business market will reach a tipping point, triggering rapid market expansion, according to new research from Verdantix.

After analyzing spending patterns of more than 2,500 global firms, Verdantix found that growth rates of investment in sustainable business programs will be between 50 percent and 100 percent higher in 2013 than in 2011. As a result, total spend on sustainable business programs by $1bn revenues firms in Australia, Canada, the UK and the US markets alone will hit $60 billion in 2013.

In addition, Verdantix says the “tipping point” will be fueled by these three specific factors: (more…)

Corporate sustainability programs are now standard fare for most large, publicly-listed corporations, but a new survey from KPMG found that nearly one-third of smaller businesses still don’t have a sustainability strategy in place.

The study, Corporate Sustainability: A Progress Report, polled 378 senior executives from around the world. It found that:

• Overall, 62 percent of companies participating in the survey have a corporate sustainability plan –up from just over half polled in a similar survey in 2008.

• However, larger publicly-listed companies are clearly leading the charge. Nearly eight out of 10 of the large companies polled have a strategy, compared with less than  half of smaller businesses.

• US companies are lagging companies elsewhere around the globe. Of the 86 American firms included in the survey, about half (55 percent) said their organization has a formal sustainability strategy in place. More than four out of 10 of the US respondents reported that it was difficult to overcome organizational focus on other programs that provide more readily measureable short-term financial benefits.

• Fortunately, businesses are beginning to connect the dots between sustainability and profitability.  Almost half the executives surveyed said they believe that implementing sustainability programs will contribute to the bottom line, either through cost reduction or increased profitability. What’s more, among those that do not have a strategy currently in place, seven out of 10 expect to do so within one to five years. One-quarter said they had no specific timeframe.

What are the biggest obstacles companies face when trying to implement a sustainability program? According to the executives polled, the short list of hurdles includes: (more…)

The real estate sector can play a significant role in a low-carbon economy. Not only do investments into more sustainable business practices and technologies benefit the environment and society, in general; they also create long-term value and competitiveness. In fact, a new report from RICS concluded that even in difficult economic times, green office buildings can offer investors considerable financial benefits, including higher rents and lower risk premiums.

The new report, titled Sustainability and the Dynamics of Green Building, summarizes data collected from North American buildings certified by the EOA’s Energy Star Program. The research shows that: (more…)

Panasonic Corporation of North America announced last week that it is stepping up its commitment to pursue eco-innovation in both its products and business practices.

Summarizing its commitment to environmental sustainability in an “Eco Ideas Declaration” pledge, Panasonic aims to become the number one green innovation company in the electronics industry by 2018, which is when the company will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.

The Eco Ideas Declaration provides specific goals for North America in two core areas of Panasonic’s overall Green Innovation strategy:

(more…)

A diverse collection of some of the world’s leading companies have joined forces to create the Sustainability Innovators Working Group, an organization that will work to define and develop new approaches to environmental management and corporate sustainability.

Esty Environmental Partners (EEP), the organizer of the group, and IBM, a participant and supporting partner, announced the launch of the group last week.

The Sustainability Innovators Working Group –which includes global corporations such as Boeing, CH2M Hill, Coca-Cola, Delhaize Group, Disney, Diversey, Dow Chemical Company, FedEx, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies, Inc., Shaklee, Unilever, and Xerox — will define a new set of management systems and tools for achieving greater value from sustainability strategy.  Each company will be able to apply the best practices from this collaboration within their own organizations not only to achieve greater efficiency and effectiveness in their operations, but also to better identify and develop related opportunities for innovation and growth. (more…)