- April 25, 2012
Executive Summary
For businesses in all sectors of the economy, sustainability is a strategy for building long-term shareholder value, managing environmental and social risks, and improving competitiveness. Environmental and social sustainability issues are material “balance sheet” issues. They pose risks and offer opportunities that will drive the success of corporations.
There are ever increasing expectations of business from investors, customers, employees and communities to solve environmental and social challenges, and to be transparent in doing so. The need to jump from business strategies to “sustainable business strategies” is urgent if we are to tackle issues such as climate change, water scarcity and human rights, particularly as the global population eclipses seven billion and accelerates towards nine billion by 2050. This transformation will require boldness, innovation and perseverance; and the companies that make this switch will be best positioned to drive solutions to these 21st century challenges.
The Road to 2020: Corporate Progress on The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability assesses how U.S. businesses are progressing on sustainability and uses as a framework, The 21st Century Corporation: The Ceres Roadmap for Sustainability—a guide for integrating sustainability across a company’s entire enterprise. Specifically, it evaluates where 600 large publicly traded companies1 stand on sustainability issues in terms of governance, stakeholder engagement, disclosure and performance.
The analysis shows there are pockets of leadership and innovation, and identifies many specific examples where lessons can be learned and applied by other businesses. But it also reveals that two years into the 2020 timeframe we still have a long way to go. For example, just 26 percent of the 600 companies are integrating sustainability within governance and management systems; only a quarter are disclosing supply chain monitoring and performance; and only a third are setting targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The findings are clear—more companies should be taking stronger action now.
