Some three-quarters (76%) of business executives said that sustainability is central to their business strategy, a new study by IBM has found, however close to half (47%) said that they struggle to fund sustainability investments.
In addition, less than a third (31%) say that they incorporate sustainability data and insights into operational improvements to a large extent.
According to the study, Beyond checking the box – how to create business value with embedded sustainability, which gathered data from some 5,000 global C-suite executives, organisations that embed ESG throughout their operations tend to see better outcomes both in terms of sustainability and financial considerations, while also spending less money than their peers.
On the positive side, the study noted that 30% of executives said that they had made ‘significant progress’ in executing their sustainability strategies, up from 10% a year ago.
Trade offs
Turning these ESG ambitions into profit, however, remains a challenge – six in ten said that they have had to make ‘trade offs’ between financial and sustainability outcomes.
Where sustainability is embedded deeply into an organisation’s structure, rather than focusing on singular achievements, the benefits are manifold, the study found, with 75% more likely to attribute greater improvement in revenue from their sustainability efforts.
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‘No quick fix’
“An organisation’s approach to sustainability may be holding it back. There is no quick fix. Sustainability requires intentionality and a shared corporate vision,” commented Oday Abbosh, global managing partner, Sustainability Services, IBM Consulting.
“Sustainability needs to be part of the day-to-day operations, not viewed only as a compliance task or reporting exercise. By embedding sustainability across their business, organisations are more likely to drive internal innovation, attract and retain skilled talent, and be better positioned to deliver both positive environmental impact and financial outcomes.”
Elsewhere, three-quarters (75%) of respondents said that they believe sustainability positively influences business results, and a similar proportion (76%) consider it central to their business strategy.
However, nearly seven out of ten (69%) executives think sustainability should be a higher priority in their organisations.
Two fifths (40%) of organisations state that they have the capability to access sustainability data from core systems like ERP and CRM, while a similar percentage (39%) cite a lack of necessary skills as the primary barrier to advancing sustainability efforts.
Additionally, 64% of executives said that they believed generative AI will be ‘important’ for their sustainability endeavours, while 73% indicated plans to boost their investment in generative AI specifically for sustainability purposes.
The full study can be found here.
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