INTELLIGENT BRANDS // Green Technology
Survey finds 87 % of business leaders expect to increase sustainability investment over next two years
A new Gartner survey reveals that 87 % of business leaders expect to increase their organization ’ s investment in sustainability over the next two years .
Customers are the primary stakeholder group creating pressure for organizations to invest or act on sustainability issues , selected by 80 % of executives , followed by investors ( 60 %) and regulators ( 55 %).
“ Sustainability enables businesses to cope with disruption ,” said Kristin Moyer , Distinguished VP Analyst , Gartner .
“ Economic uncertainty , geopolitical conflict and escalating materials and energy costs are forcing businesses to re-examine all forms of expenditure . This focus on essentialism , in combination with increasing stakeholder desire to see progress on environmental , social and governance ( ESG ) goals , creates new opportunities for enterprises to grow while mitigating cost and risk .”
The survey was conducted in June and July 2022 among 221 respondents in North America , Europe and Asia / Pacific .
Respondents were executives in director roles or above within organizations with enterprise-wide annual revenue of at least US $ 250 million for fiscal year 2021 , which are currently engaged in sustainability-related activities .
Sustainability protects organizations from disruption
The survey found that 86 % of business leaders see sustainability as an investment which protects their organization from disruption . Additionally , 83 % said sustainability program activities directly created both short and long-term value for their organization , and 80 % indicated that sustainability helped their organization optimize and reduce costs .
Specifically , the top areas where survey respondents said sustainability programs are mitigating cost increases are energy consumption , business travel and customer transactions .
“ Executive leaders are achieving both operational and supply chain savings through their sustainability programs ,” said Moyer . “ This kind of ‘ two for one ’, where sustainability investment supports a business goal like cost optimization , significantly enhances the program ’ s impact by creating a virtuous cycle .”
Sustainability drives growth and innovation
Sustainability can also enable new value creation and business growth opportunities . Fifty-seven percent of business leaders said the enterprise sustainability program has a strong connection to the results on the income statement , and 42 % of respondents are leveraging their sustainability activities to drive innovation , differentiation and enterprise growth through sustainable products .
“ Investing in sustainability can support product differentiation but be wary of greenwashing risks – there are no shortcuts to sustainable growth ,” said Moyer . “ Focus on product attributes that are important to customers and how these priorities shape buying decisions . When viewed through a strategic lens , sustainability can provide a ray of sunshine for businesses during difficult market conditions .” p
www . intelligentcio . com INTELLIGENTCIO APAC 69