Sustainability remains high with global supply chain leaders

Despite the rocky global economic recovery, businesses worldwide remain highly committed to sustainability, a recent survey indicates.

According to new research released at the Business for Social Responsibility (BSR) Conference in San Francisco this week, more than eight in 10 respondents (84 percent) are optimistic that global businesses will embrace CSR/sustainability as part of their core strategies and operations in the next five years.

For the second straight year, BSR and GlobeScan surveyed nearly 500 business leaders drawn from BSR’s global network of nearly 300 member companies.

“Even with the current uncertainties in the global economy, companies remain highly focused on the value of sustainable business strategies,” said BSR President and CEO Aron Cramer.

“This year’s survey indicates that sustainability holds a critical, valued seat at the table when it comes to defining corporate strategies for growth.”

Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore echoed this sentiment to a crowded room of sustainable business leaders and practitioners at the BSR Conference 2011 earlier this week.

“Sustainability is now on the agenda for so many companies around the world in a way it was not in the past,” he said. “Many companies that did not think of sustainability and responsibility in the past are starting to figure out that it is a business plus. Businesses now understand in a much more textured way that what you represent is a very positive benefit. This is now a global agenda.”

The business leaders surveyed cite human rights, climate change, workers’ rights, and water issues (in that order) as the top priorities for their companies’ CSR/sustainability efforts in the year ahead.

Human rights surpassed climate change this year for the first time, with 65 percent noting it as a priority. Climate change followed closely, with 63 percent saying it was a priority, and 61 percent saying workers’ rights were a priority. There was a sizable increase in interest around water availability/quality over the past 12 months; in this year’s survey, 54 percent noted it as a priority, up from 47 percent last year.

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