Recent data reporting a Change in the approach to Sustainability around Energy, Green Products, and Retaining Employees

Apparently, there has been a change from last year to this year, where more companies and their CEOs and Executives are looking to heighten awareness about sustainability and incorporating these concepts into their business/strategic plans by "...saving energy, developing green products, and retaining and motivating employees, all of which help companies capture value through growth and return on capital..." and that sustainability makes, or will make, a major contribution to the company's short and longer term goals.

This is stated in a recent article by McKinsey which is pasted below for your review. Executives have gained a more realistic view about sustainability and in identifying opportunities with the greatest potential value. 

You can subscribe to the newsletter. See the link at the end. Enjoy the article.

The business of sustainability: McKinsey Global Survey results.

More companies are managing sustainability to improve processes, pursue growth, and add value to their companies rather than focusing on reputation alone.

OCTOBER 2011

Many companies are actively integrating sustainability principles into their businesses, according to a recent McKinsey survey,¹ and they are doing so by pursuing goals that go far beyond earlier concern for reputation management—for example, saving energy, developing green products, and retaining and motivating employees, all of which help companies capture value through growth and return on capital. In our sixth survey of executives on how their companies understand and manage issues related to sustainability,² this year’s results show that, since last year, larger shares of executives say sustainability programs make a positive contribution to their companies’ short- and long-term value.
This survey explored why and how companies are addressing sustainability and to what extent executives believe it affects their companies’ bottom line, now and over the next five years. In a related opinion piece, “Putting it into practice,” at the end of this survey, the authors argue that more businesses will have to take a long-term strategic view of the issue by identifying and pursuing sustainability opportunities that hold the highest value potential.
On the whole, respondents report a more well-rounded understanding of sustainability and its expected benefits than in prior surveys. As in the past, they see the potential for supporting corporate reputation. But they also expect operational and growth-oriented benefits in the areas of cutting costs and pursuing opportunities in new markets and products. Furthermore, respondents in certain industries—energy, the extractive industries,³ and transportation—report that their companies are taking a more active approach than those in other sectors, probably as a result of those industries’ potential regulatory and natural-resource constraints.

Global Results from McKinsey about Sustainability