We are in the midst of a sustainability revolution. No longer are environmental concerns the purview of a small group of activists trying to thwart nuclear tests or save an obscure animal species from extinction.
Today sustainability is, without question, mainstream.
We all (or most of us, anyway) embrace the social benefit to sustainable practices. The challenge to corporations is to find where sustainability fits in their business model.
I recently found a report from the MIT Sloan Management Review, a publication of The Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The report, entitled: “The Business of Sustainability, Findings and Insights from the First Annual Business of Sustainability Survey and the Global Thought Leaders’ Research Project,” is an excellent summary of the effects sustainability has on business and how companies can participate in the movement.
The document is long but well organized, making it fairly easy to find relevant survey results and analysis. On page 10 there is a section I found particularly interesting. It’s entitled: “Three Major Barriers Impede Decisive Corporate Action.” The three barriers are:
- Companies often lack the right information upon which to act.
- Companies struggle to define the business case for value creation.
- When companies do act, their execution is flawed.
When looking for strategic insights regarding sustainability and business, this report is a must-read.
