by Rebecca Walker — July 30, 2010—On the topic of corporate sustainability, one size does not fit all, notes a new report from Deloitte Consulting. The report, “Sustainability in Business today: A Cross-Industry View,” is based on surveys of 48 sustainability executives at companies across five sectors, and finds that there is no single way that firms are looking to go green.
Definitions, methods and even levels of engagement vary from company to company, according to the survey. But the report finds that businesses are taking sustainability to heart more than ever before. “Overall, our survey highlights a clear recognition among respondents of the importance of sustainability to the future of their businesses,” said Chris Park, a principal at Deloitte and the lead author of the report.
Although most executives surveyed said that their sustainability programs focused on a triple bottom line model covering the planet, people and profit, the report found that environmental efforts were front and center among CSR reports from those companies.
In the survey, Deloitte also asked companies to identify what areas of environmental issues were most important to their work. Across all five sectors included in the survey, energy efficiency was listed as by far the most important issue at hand.
