“The Decade to Deliver: A Call to Business Action” – written by Accenture and the UN Global Compact, collects input from +1,000 global executives. This report, published every three years, provides a statement on how CEOs view sustainability.
A few key takeaways from the report
– 99% of all respondents agree that “sustainability issues are important to the future success of their business”. Alex Ricard, CEO of Pernod Ricard, says “I need to recognize where consumers want us in ten years…I believe businesses that are only targeting profits will die.”
– 75% see a link between sustainability and corporate value and the CEOs recognize that sustainability can drive competitive advantage.
– Customers are the main reason CEO’s gave for becoming sustainable. Per Patrick Decker, President and Chief Executive of Xylem, “The younger generation is drawn to higher purpose and mission – ‘why are we doing this?’ It’s not purely the profit motive.” Mark Hunter, President and CEO of Molson Coors, adds, “Our consumers and our customers are looking for assurances that we are doing business the right way. It’s becoming table stakes.”
– Overstating sustainability attainment (ie, Greenwashing) was also mentioned. 76% of CEOs said citizen trust will be critical to competitiveness. Natura’s CEO João Paulo Ferreira says, “If at any point, consumers learn that a company or brand cannot be trusted, those brands will be heavily damaged.” De Beers CEO Bruce Cleaver added, “The time will come when there will be a threshold question that consumers will ask which is ‘can I trust this brand?’, and if the answer is ‘no’ they won’t buy anything. It will become a binary question.”
Simplified:
– Sustainability needs to be part of your plan
– Sustainability can be used to differentiate from your competition and improve value
– The largest buying groups are now expecting it
– Certification of your sustainability actions is key to achieving consumer trust