Companies see sustainability, green practices as good for business

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Companies see sustainability,
green practices as good for business

Businesses are increasingly eyeing a “triple bottom line” of fiscal health, environmental stewardship and corporate social responsibility as a broader and truer measure of their success. Connecticut companies are starting to implement sustainability planning and green business practices as ways to attain corporate social and environmental goals.

Those are some of the overall findings of CBIA’s 2007 Corporate Sustainability/
Green Business Practices Survey.

For this survey, sustainability was defined as the opportunity for businesses to provide long-lasting solutions that will enhance the socio-economic landscape while continuing to create jobs and economic wealth well into the future. Green business practices were defined as those that addressed environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

Here are other highlights of the survey.

Economic impact

Sixty-six percent of respondents said business sustainability will lead to long-term savings. And 50% think their company would be more attractive to larger vendors and other partners if they adopted green business practices.

Forty-six percent think embracing green issues can help attract a younger workforce.

Forty-seven percent of those surveyed said their company is changing its policies regarding environmental practices and business sustainability. Almost two-thirds (62%) said they had implemented energy cost-saving or energy efficiency practices within the last five years. More than three-quarters (78%) said their company would be somewhat to very likely to adopt green business practices if there were economic incentives for doing so.

Forty-nine percent of executives said their company considers potentially cost-saving environmental factors when choosing a new site location. The environmental factors they consider most important when developing plans for an ideal site location are traffic congestion (40%), regional energy costs (34%), access to public transportation (30%) and proximity to a major city (21%).

The most frequently cited barriers to undertaking additional green business practices were a lack of knowledge or understanding of these practices (50%), cost (43%) and lack of leadership on the issue (20%).

Environmental and social responsibility

Eighty-four percent of respondents said committing to environmental issues or causes is a somewhat or very important aspect of good corporate citizenship. What’s more, 82% said their company participates in a recycling program, and 96% would adopt more green business practices if they were proven to be healthier for their employees.

Seventy-one percent of surveyed companies regularly contribute to social organizations or academic institutions. More than two-thirds (67%) encourage employee involvement in local charities and volunteer programs, and 44% have community involvement “days of caring” at least once a year. Nearly a third (31%) of the companies regularly match employees’ donations to a local charity or cause.

Eighty-seven percent of respondents said their company has a good or very good relationship with the communities in which they are located. And 86% said maintaining good relations with local communities is a business priority.

The survey results indicate that Connecticut businesses are dedicated to good corporate citizenship and are looking for ways to remain environmentally sound and socially responsible. With the proper tools and guidance, they can remain economically, environmentally and socially sustainable well into the future.

CBIA survey