Environmental sustainability: How APAC organisations fare

Even as climate risks become impossible to ignore and values-based consumers further firms’ awareness of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability, APAC firms are making inconsistent progress in their sustainability efforts, according to Forrester’s “The State of Environmental Sustainability among large organisations in Asia Pacific” report.

Why it matters

The importance of environmental responsibility and sustainability as a business initiative has increased due to COVID-19 but APAC firms are taking very different approaches in terms of what practices to implement and how aggressively to implement them, with inconsistent government policies giving many firms cover to delay taking desperately needed action.

Key insights

• 42% of purchase influencers in APAC at firms that prioritise CSR practices said that the importance of sustainability as a business initiative has increased due to COVID-19.
• 33% of firms have created a position for a director, vice president or executive to lead the sustainability programme, compared with 58% among the Fortune Global 200.
• There are four types of CSO – activist, influencer, politician and tenured – to set the sustainability vision, drive organisational change and embed strategy into the core business model.
• 33% have named a sustainability lead but 53% have established a target date for the partial or total elimination of greenhouse gas emissions – consistent with the global average of 55%.
• 41% have set a date by which they will attain carbon neutrality, i.e. when they will achieve net zero carbon emissions via a combination of generating less CO₂ and buying carbon offsets.

Quote  

“The good news is that a growing number of APAC firms are making public climate action and environmental sustainability commitments to reduce waste and energy usage and cut greenhouse gas emissions” – Michael Barnes, VP research director, Forrester.