News

McKinsey Global Survey tracks how companies manage sustainability

1 April 2010

A recent survey conducted by McKinsey reveals that the lack of a fully defined and unilaterally agreed-upon definition of sustainability may be what is discouraging executives from making it a conscious focus within their companies.

It might also be the singular reason behind the few that report initiatives in sustainability, but lack any real credibility.

The study shows that while more than 50% of executives consider sustainability””the management of environmental, social, and governance issues”””œvery” or “œextremely” important in a wide range of areas, including new-product development, reputation building, and overall corporate strategy, companies are not taking a proactive approach to managing sustainability.  Only around 30% of executives say their companies actively seek opportunities to invest in sustainability or embed it in their business practices, for example.

Just over 6% of executives say that sustainability is a top-three priority in their CEOs’ agendas, that it is formally embedded in business practices, and that their companies are “œextremely” or “œvery effective” at managing it.

These engaged companies actively seek opportunities to invest in sustainability and they do more than others to communicate externally the impact of their sustainability programmes.

Read the full article here.  The website may require free registration before allowing access to the article.

It would be interesting to compare these numbers with those derived just from South African companies – how do you think they would compare?  As far as a working, cohesive and relevant definition of corporate sustainability goes, the debate remains open.