Numbers matter.
A new 2012 report from The Conference Board, Bloomberg and GRI, puts those numbers on the table.
Sustainability Practices: 2012 Edition
Sustainability is about improving how we work and live–profitably and responsibly–so that future generations can thrive.
Who is measuring their Corporate Social Responsibility efforts?
Where are they?
How are they measuring their actions and impacts against their business goals?
Thanks to Sustainable Business Forum contributor Elaine Cohen for her review of the report and for sharing key findings.
Via SustainableBusinessForum.com:
Sustainability: What the Numbers Tell You
[Report author] Thomas Singer rounds off with this perspective: “To a large extent, sustainability is about long-term risk management.
It’s about making sure that, if you are a company that is dependent on finite resources, you make sure that those resources are available, that they are clean and that you have access to them in the long haul.
That’s as good a description of why Sustainability actions matter as I’ve ever heard.
The rest of that quote is is right on point as well for connecting Sustainability to long-term business success.
However there is a very important second part to sustainability which is ensuring innovation and new products, new markets.
It is those companies that actually go beyond seeing sustainability as a risk strategy and more of an innovation strategy, those are the companies that really become sustainability leaders in the long term.”