Business and Biodiversity Initiative

Sloan Business School and Boston Consulting Group have released a study "The Business of Sustainability: Imperatives, Advantages, and Actions," in which they surveyed 1500 "corporate leaders."

While the New York Times' Dot Earth Blog took a fairly negative view of the conclusions, they conclusions are actually quite positive. According to the report:

• Fewer that 25% of survey respondents said that their company had decreased its commitment to sustainability during the downturn

However:

• The majority of sustainability actions undertaken to date appear to be limited to those necessary to meet regulatory requirements (Its not great news, but companies need to start with small actions)

Although:

• A small number of companies, however, are acting aggressively on sustainability and reaping substantial benefits

The report continues:

"Once companies begin to pursue sustainability initiatives in earnest, they tend to unearth opportunities to reduce costs, create new revenue streams, and develop more innovative business models."

This is a business case that we have previously tried to make, and more studies confirming it just increases its credibility.

The full BCG/Sloan Report is here.