Customers are the primary stakeholder group creating pressure for organizations to invest or act on sustainability issues, selected by 80% of executives, followed by investors (60%) and regulators (55%). A new Gartner, Inc. survey reveals that 87% of business leaders expect to increase their organization’s investment in sustainability over the next two years. 

The survey was conducted in June and July 2022 among 221 respondents in North America, Europe and Asia/Pacific. Respondents were executives in director roles or above within organizations with enterprise-wide annual revenue of at least $250 million for fiscal year 2021, which are currently engaged in sustainability-related activities.

The study found that 86% of business leaders see sustainability as an investment that protects their organization from disruption. Additionally, 83% said sustainability program activities directly created both short- and long-term value for their organization, and 80% indicated that sustainability helped their organization optimize and reduce costs.

Specifically, the top areas where survey respondents said sustainability programs are mitigating cost increases are energy consumption, business travel and customer transactions.

“Executive leaders are achieving both operational and supply chain savings through their sustainability programs,” said Kristin Moyer, Gartner’s VP Analyst. “This kind of ‘two for one,’ where sustainability investment supports a business goal like cost optimization, significantly enhances the program’s impact by creating a virtuous cycle.”

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Source: Gartner