The sustainability mandate

It is Earth Day and we have just launched a new sustainability study and global index, polling over 14,000 consumers in nine countries (United States, India, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Spain, Brazil and China).

The survey reveals that the pandemic has directly impacted consumers' views on environmental sustainability, and heightened awareness/concern has made many consumers more willing to pay out of their own pockets - and even take a pay cut - for a sustainable future. A few of the findings include:

• US consumers gave the lowest scores out of every country surveyed, across 7 out of 7 environmental issues. Only 51% of US consumers said addressing climate change was very or extremely important to them, compared to 73% of respondents from all other countries. Actually Indian consumers are the most climate concerned!
• Globally, less than half of consumers (48%) trust corporate commitments on sustainability, with two-thirds (64%) expecting increased public scrutiny in the year ahead
• 48% of employees/job-seekers/students surveyed would accept a lower salary to work for an environmentally responsible company, and 71% of employees/job-seekers consider sustainable companies to be more attractive employers (highly educated employees/job-seekers were nearly twice as likely as those with lower education to prefer a sustainable employer)
• 59% of personal investors expect to buy or sell holdings in the next 12 months based on environmental sustainability factors. 

 Now is the time for businesses to take bold steps forward -- their relationship with their customers, investors and employees depends on it. 

Show your commitment, don’t just talk about it.

1. Businesses need to show, not just tell, their commitment to sustainability – today, less than half (48%) of consumers trust statements companies make about environmental sustainability, and nearly two-thirds (64%) expect public scrutiny of companies’ environmental statements to increase in the next year. More than 2 in 3 respondents from India and China trust those statements, compared to about 1 in 3 from the US, UK, Canada, Germany, Spain.
2. Unleash innovative technology to create more sustainable enterprises. Being more sustainable and transitioning to net zero carbon emissions starts and ends with data. You need to know how you are performing against a variety of metrics, identify areas to improve, monitor performance, and then report performance to various stakeholders. Businesses are applying exponential technologies like AI and blockchain to take advantage of data to rapidly change business models across industries from retail to energy and utilities to transportation, and technology companies are unlocking innovative and scalable solutions for these sectors.
3. Build an ecosystem of partners that can drive open innovation today. Environmental innovation can come from anywhere. Not just from any actor, but any organization—public or private—from any part of the environmental ecosystem, or beyond. This requires open innovation: a way to channel innovative ideas from a wide range of different internal and external stakeholders, via ecosystems.

Let me know if you're interested in the details on the findings and how companies can create more sustainable and responsible enterprises through bold action and with the help of innovative tech like AI, IoT, blockchain .....or have a dialogue about, how we can help you on your sustainability journey