More than six in ten businesses around the world (62%) have said that storms, floods and wildfires are likely to have a material impact on their environmental initiatives, a study by Honeywell has found.
Honeywell’s Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) also found that 45% of businesses believe that rising global temperatures will have or already has had a material effect on their near-term plans.
On the positive side, some 88% of companies are planning to increase their budgets in energy evolution and efficiency initiatives, while close to three quarters (73%) say that they are ‘at least somewhat optimistic about achieving near-term goals’, which up from 62% a year ago.
Close to one in five are currently adopting a technology-driven approach to their sustainability initiatives, while 92% of respondents have an established ESG reporting process, with 30% indicating that the responsibility lies within the c-suite.
Sense of urgency
“The extreme weather events this year have increased the sense of urgency for immediate action at organisations,” commented Gavin Towler, Chief Scientist for Sustainability and Chief Sustainability Officer at Honeywell.
“As a result, we should expect to see more organisations looking to accelerate their sustainability efforts and, in particular, adopting a technology-driven approach to their energy transition plans.”
Four specific areas
Honeywell’s Environmental Sustainability Index gathers data to evaluate activity in four specific sustainability areas: energy evolution and efficiency, emissions reduction, pollution prevention, and circularity and recycling.
The Index provides a breakdown of its findings across four regions (Asia Pacific, EMEA, Latin America, and North America) and eight industry sectors (banking, consumer goods, energy, government/public sector, healthcare, technology, manufacturing/construction, and transportation/logistics).
You can find it here.
