Some 85% of global businesses have increased sustainability investments in the past year, up from 75% in 2023, according to a new report by professional services firm Deloitte.
The 2024 CxO Sustainability Report also found 70% of executives expect climate change to have a high or very high impact on their company’s strategies and operations over the next three years, while 45% of c-suite business leaders (CxOs) say they are transforming their business model to help address climate change and sustainability in a way that is central to their organisation’s strategy.
Half of CxOs have already begun implementing technology solutions to help achieve climate or environmental goals, the study found – with another 42% expecting to undertake this work in the next two years.
Now in its third year, Deloitte’s CxO Sustainability Report, which surveys over 2,100 CxOs from 27 countries, reveals that business leaders are simultaneously optimistic and concerned about climate change. While sustainability investments, action, and innovation are each trending up, there is a clear sign more work needs to be done to help drive concrete progress.
Joe Ucuzoglu, Deloitte global CEO, said: “It’s encouraging to see the notable increased investment in sustainability efforts in this year’s data along with the focus on using technology as a catalyst to advance climate solutions.
“We are seeing more organisations looking to transform their core business models to address climate change, leverage climate action to drive innovation and growth, create new value for their stakeholders, and differentiate themselves from their competitors.”
Other interesting statistics from the report include 92% of CxOs believing their company can grow while reducing greenhouse gas emissions, while more than half of leaders questioned have focused on two to three harder-to-implement, “needle-moving” actions to help drive impact inside and outside their organisations, such as tying senior leaders’ compensation to sustainability performance or developing relevant products or services.
Jennifer Steinmann, Deloitte global sustainability business leader, commented: “Executives are beginning to see more tangible benefits from taking climate action for their organisations – pointing to sustainability as a driver of new products, business models, and value creation overall.
“The companies in the moderate middle group in our analysis are primed to take advantage of the broader market momentum by building on their existing experience to take additional deeper, transformational actions – such as reconfiguring operations and infrastructure to be more climate resilient or requiring suppliers to meet specific sustainability criteria. Ultimately, this increased action will help accelerate progress toward our collective global climate goals.”
The sustainability investments survey was conducted by KS&R and Deloitte during May and June 2024, and polled respondents from 27 countries: 46% from Europe/Middle East/South Africa; 17% from North America; 9% from Latin America; and 28% from Asia-Pacific. Each of the major industry sectors were represented.
Read more from c-suite retailers on Green Retail World
[image credit: Green Retail World]
