Organisations are talking a good game on sustainability

Organisations’ stated enthusiasm for sustainability is not being matched by significant progress, according to a report which finds a gap between perception and reality across three pillars of sustainability transformation – environmental, economic and societal. 

Why it matters

The Fujitsu Uvance report*, Closing The Sustainability Gap, identifies ‘Change Makers’, a small group of organisations which it says are leading the way on both sustainability imperatives and technology transformation. 

Not only do Change Makers find “sustainability transformation” using digital innovation easier to complete, they’re also more likely to exceed profit targets and to have brand reputations that perform above expectations.

Key stats

• 61% of organisations say they’re advanced on their sustainability journeys, but in reality less than one in 10 has completed major sustainability imperatives such as developing sustainable supply chains (9%), achieving net zero status (2%) or preparing for environmental emergencies (7%). 
• 77% of organisations say being sustainable is the right thing to do and is ultimately good for business, but 18% regard sustainability as a passing fad.
• 27% of organisations are not clear whose responsibility it is to drive sustainability, while 25% are still being challenged on sustainability investments if they don’t offer a clear return on investment. 
• The top sustainability goals are simply complying with regulations and developing sustainable supply chains and ecosystems (both 18%); that’s followed by health/wellbeing initiatives for employees (12%) and empowering staff and customers to respond to social issues (11%).

The role of tech 

“A lot of sustainability challenges are problems of inefficiency. So technologies can come in and really help us take optimisation to a whole different level” – Ioannis Ioannou, Associate Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship at London Business School. 

*Findings in the report are based on a survey of 1,000 business and public sector leaders across a range of sectors from 15 countries (Australia, Canada, China, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Spain, Thailand, the UK and the US).

[Image: Closing The Sustainability Gap]