A new report predicts that sustainability will be the most important topic discussed in boardrooms in 2020.
Analytics firm GlobalData has released its latest report, Sustainability – Thematic Research, which states that public anger at the lack of action on climate change, corruption, income inequality, tax avoidance, and other social ills makes it harder for chief executives to ignore sustainability.
The reluctance of many CEOs to fully engage with sustainability can be attributed to the age-old view that it will hurt profits. However, the evidence in this report suggests the exact opposite.
Companies that embrace all three pillars of sustainability will outperform their peers. CEOs that are too slow to improve their company’s approach to sustainability will see an exodus of customers and a drop in profits far sooner than they ever imagined.
In the report, GlobalData sets out a comprehensive sustainability framework – based on environmental, social, and governance issues – to help CEOs identify all potential sustainability risks and implement mitigating actions that can improve their company’s ESG performance.
Cyrus Mewawalla, Head of Thematic Research at GlobalData, said: “While previous decades have witnessed environmental movements, the current wave of sustainability consciousness is unprecedented. Each new climate-related emergency, human rights violation, or corruption scandal reinforces the public opinion that companies must become more sustainable.”
Entries are now open for the 2020 Gulf Sustainability and CSR Awards, which will take place in Dubai on June 9. For more information on entering, click here.
