A New Era of Sustainability

The UN Global Compact and Accenture, a private company, have published a report titled "A New Era of Sustainability." The report demonstrates differences in perceptions of sustainability between the Chief Executive Officers (CEOs) in different industry sectors, as well as gaps in the integration of sustainability already achieved in their companies, notwithstanding a trend toward seeing sustainability as an opportunity for value creation and business success.

According to the report, 93 percent of 766 CEOs surveyed in seven sectors (Automotive, Banking, Communications, Consumer Goods, Energy, Infrastructure and Transportation, and Utilities) believe that sustainability is ?important? or ?very important? to the future success of their company. However, only 22 percent of CEOs in the Communications sector view sustainability to be a ?very important? factor.

The report also shows some sectors to be ahead in integrating sustainability into their business. For example, 83 percent of CEOs in the Energy sector and 81 percent of those in Infrastructure say their company measures positive and negative impacts of their activities on sustainability outcomes. Performance gaps do remain between stated ambitions and implementation.