Brands See Sustainability As Key To Growth

Sustainability is turning into a major concern for brand owners, who are placing more emphasis on it, not just in terms of production, but also in areas like new product development and marketing. This is the main finding of a new study by Accenture.

The international survey reveals that 44% of the executives questioned consider sustainability to be “critical” to business, while 48% agreed it was “very important”. Only 7% claimed that the issue was “somewhat important”, the Guardian reports.

In addition, more than three quarters of those polled say that sustainability will play a crucial role in future growth. If figures are broken down regionally, it becomes evident that the biggest importance on green business is placed in emerging markets, where 91% of the panel think sustainability is “vital”, while 77% in the US, 73% in Europe and 63% in Japan share this view.

What comes as a surprise is the motivation behind the efforts to promote sustainability. About two in three executives believe that sustainability should be embraced to meet consumer expectations, with 23% claiming that this factor is the most important driving force for businesses to invest in sustainability. By contrast, 52% of those polled admit they are “genuinely concerned for the environment” and 17% say that this is the most important factor to start thinking green.