The 2012 Sustainability Leaders
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Methodology
• • • 825 qualified sustainability experts completed the online questionnaire from January 25 to February 10, 2012. Respondents were drawn from: corporate, government, non-governmental, academic/research, service/media, and other organizations. Experts surveyed span 76 countries in Asia, Africa / Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America / Caribbean, Australia / New Zealand, and comprise a highly-experienced respondent pool: • • • • 65 percent have more than ten years of experience working on sustainability issues. 28 percent have five to ten years of experience. 7 percent have three to four years of experience. Respondents with less than three years of sustainability experience have been excluded from the results.
Notes to Readers: All figures in the charts and tables in this report are expressed in percentages, unless otherwise noted. Total percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding.
Key Findings
• • Overall perceptions of sustainability leadership declined or stalled across nearly all institutional actors (e.g. social entrepreneurs, NGOs, businesses, governments) in 2012. While regional differences are present in the perceived efficacy of these institutional actors, all experts agree on the relative inability of corporate and government leaders to advance sustainable development. For the second year in a row, Unilever is the outright corporate sustainability leader. Unilever leveraged a strong reputation among corporate peers and the service/media sector, particularly in Europe. Four out of the top five and nine out of the top 13 corporate sustainability leaders are holdovers from 2011’s sustainability leaders. Unilever and Patagonia are the only two companies to gain “market share” in each of the last two years; Meanwhile, GE and Walmart saw significant declines. A commitment to sustainable values remains the primary reason a company is cited as a sustainability leader.
•
• • •
Overall perceptions of sustainability leadership declined or stalled across nearly all institutional actors in 2012; social entrepreneurs continue to be regarded as most effective
48
Social entrepreneurs Leaders in the scientific community NGO leaders Leaders of multilateral organizations Corporate leaders 5 6 19 43
57 56
40 40 40
49 50
23 22 24
17 20
2012 2011 2010
Government leaders
8
Please rate the overall performance of each of the following types of leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda over the past year? Please use a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is “poor” and 5 is “excellent.”
Social entrepreneurs gain their reputation for sustainability leadership from media and service sector experts, though with few exceptions, experts are more likely to identify leadership within their own sectors than in others
Academic / Research 48 52 45 24 15 5 Service Media 54 37 33 17 15 4
Government Social Entrepreneurs Leaders in the scientific community NGO leaders Leaders of multilateral organizations Corporate leaders Government leaders 35 47 48 18 12 10
NGO 48 45 46 24 10 5
Corporate 47 35 36 15 30 3
“Excellent” (4+5)
Please rate the overall performance of each of the following types of leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda over the past year? Please use a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is “poor” and 5 is “excellent.”
Experts from emerging markets have a more positive view on the performance of all types of leaders except social entrepreneurs
Social entrepreneurs Leaders in the scientific community NGO leaders Leaders of multilateral organizations Corporate leaders 4 3 5 17 15 17 18 37 41 40
45
48
51
55
43
48
34 Europe 21 North America Emerging markets*
Government leaders
*Includes Asia, Africa / Middle East, and Latin America / Caribbean Please rate the overall performance of each of the following types of leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda over the past year? Please use a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is “poor” and 5 is “excellent.”
For the second year in a row, Unilever is seen as the top corporate sustainability leader, while Patagonia breaks into the top five this year
Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Nike Novo Nordisk Siemens Toyota IBM Nestlé 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 7 7 10 17
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever has a significantly stronger reputation among corporate peers and service/media than among other respondents
Government Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer 10 9 6 9 9 1
NGO 9 8 5 10 6 3
Academic / Research 12 8 6 7 6 3
Corporate 22 11 11 8 7 9
Service Media 24 12 7 5 9 7
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
The top sustainability leaders in 2012 are largely unchanged from 2011
2012
Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Nike Novo Nordisk Siemens Toyota IBM Nestlé 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 7 7 10 17 Unilever GE Interface Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Patagonia Toyota Novo Nordisk Co-operative Shell 3 3 4 5 5 5
Leadership companies in 2011 and 2012 New entrants in 2012 Leadership company in 2011
2011
15 12 12 11 8
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever and Patagonia have gained “market share” in each of the last two years; meanwhile, GE, and Walmart have seen significant declines
Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Nike Novo Nordisk Siemens Toyota 2 2 2 2 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 5 2012 2011 2010 3 5 7 7 7 8 15 10 11 11 12 12 17
5
11
13
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever and Patagonia have gained “market share” in each of the last two years; meanwhile, GE, and Walmart have seen significant declines
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever has a strong reputation among experts in Europe, while Walmart leads in North America and Natura leads in emerging markets
Europe
Unilever Marks & Spencer Interface Novo Nordisk GE Siemens Co-operative IKEA Patagonia Toyota 5 5 4 4 4 4 7 6 9 23
North America
Walmart Interface Unilever Patagonia GE Nike IBM DuPont Johnson & Johnson Starbucks Toyota 4 4 4 6 5 8 11 16 14 14 13
Emerging Markets*
Natura Unilever GE Patagonia Walmart Nedbank Siemens Interface Novo Nordisk Shell Toyota 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 8 14 13
*Includes Asia, Africa / Middle East, and Latin America / Caribbean What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Experts identify a number of reasons why top companies are regarded as sustainability leaders
Sustainable Living Plan brings together sustainability and business strategy in a way unprecedented for a company of such size and impact. Integrated long-term thinking into their strategy, and as a result have identified the need for more sustainable behavior to protect theirs and society's interests.
Because it focus[es] its own business on products that have better environmental and social impacts than its competitors.
They are “walking the walk”— based on the leadership that Ray Anderson had provided to them.
Challenging business models or at least attempting to… Their radical strategy change in which they convince consumers to consume less—and bring their old clothes for repair.
Sustainability is practiced as a moral and values proposition.
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
Experts identify a number of reasons why top companies are regarded as sustainability leaders
Pushing sustainability through its supply chain… It has set out its sustainability agenda and made it public. Ecomagination continues to be the model for making money from "greener" practices.
Nike has quietly begun focusing on sustainable manufacture of its products, sustainable development of their products and the conception of a sustainable marketplace, in which their products have a high degree of re-use.
Thought leaders on urban sustainability and focusing their core business competencies on an issue that can effect… change on a grand scale in collaboration with other actors in society…
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
A commitment to sustainable values remains the primary reason a company is cited as a sustainability leader
Commitment to sustainability values* Transparency/communication** Sustainable products/services Integration into core business model Innovation/R&D Renewable energy / lowering emissions Supply chain management Environmental/waste/water management Executive leadership has strong SD values 6 6 7 8 8 12 11 10
31
*Sustainability values integrated/embedded / Ambitious goals/targets/policies / Long-term commitment / Actions/results/walk the talk **Transparency / Education/engagement/dialogue/stakeholders / Communication/reporting
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
The “sustainability leadership triangle” reflects how companies can approach and demonstrate commitment to sustainability values
Commitment to sustainability values* Transparency/communication** Sustainable products/services Integration into core business model Innovation/R&D Renewable energy / lowering emissions Supply chain management Environmental/waste/water management Executive leadership has strong SD values 6 6 7 8 8 12 11 10 31
Vision / Strategy
Integration / Performance
Engagement / Communication
*Sustainability values integrated/embedded / Ambitious goals/targets/policies / Long-term commitment / Actions/results/walk the talk **Transparency / Education/engagement/dialogue/stakeholders / Communication/reporting
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
For more information, contact:
Chris Coulter, President chris.coulter@globescan.com GlobeScan Incorporated 65 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 900 Toronto, Canada M4T 2Y3 Toronto: +1 416 962 0707 London: +44 20 7253 1450 San Francisco: +1 415 874 3154 www.globescan.com
Jeff Erikson, Senior Vice President erikson@sustainability.com SustainAbility, Ltd. 1638 R Street NW, Suite 301 Washington, DC 20009 Washington: +1 202 315 4150 London: +44 20 7269 6900 www.sustainability.com
© February 2012 GlobeScan®
Methodology
• • • 825 qualified sustainability experts completed the online questionnaire from January 25 to February 10, 2012. Respondents were drawn from: corporate, government, non-governmental, academic/research, service/media, and other organizations. Experts surveyed span 76 countries in Asia, Africa / Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America / Caribbean, Australia / New Zealand, and comprise a highly-experienced respondent pool: • • • • 65 percent have more than ten years of experience working on sustainability issues. 28 percent have five to ten years of experience. 7 percent have three to four years of experience. Respondents with less than three years of sustainability experience have been excluded from the results.
Notes to Readers: All figures in the charts and tables in this report are expressed in percentages, unless otherwise noted. Total percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding.
Key Findings
• • Overall perceptions of sustainability leadership declined or stalled across nearly all institutional actors (e.g. social entrepreneurs, NGOs, businesses, governments) in 2012. While regional differences are present in the perceived efficacy of these institutional actors, all experts agree on the relative inability of corporate and government leaders to advance sustainable development. For the second year in a row, Unilever is the outright corporate sustainability leader. Unilever leveraged a strong reputation among corporate peers and the service/media sector, particularly in Europe. Four out of the top five and nine out of the top 13 corporate sustainability leaders are holdovers from 2011’s sustainability leaders. Unilever and Patagonia are the only two companies to gain “market share” in each of the last two years; Meanwhile, GE and Walmart saw significant declines. A commitment to sustainable values remains the primary reason a company is cited as a sustainability leader.
•
• • •
Overall perceptions of sustainability leadership declined or stalled across nearly all institutional actors in 2012; social entrepreneurs continue to be regarded as most effective
48
Social entrepreneurs Leaders in the scientific community NGO leaders Leaders of multilateral organizations Corporate leaders 5 6 19 43
57 56
40 40 40
49 50
23 22 24
17 20
2012 2011 2010
Government leaders
8
Please rate the overall performance of each of the following types of leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda over the past year? Please use a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is “poor” and 5 is “excellent.”
Social entrepreneurs gain their reputation for sustainability leadership from media and service sector experts, though with few exceptions, experts are more likely to identify leadership within their own sectors than in others
Academic / Research 48 52 45 24 15 5 Service Media 54 37 33 17 15 4
Government Social Entrepreneurs Leaders in the scientific community NGO leaders Leaders of multilateral organizations Corporate leaders Government leaders 35 47 48 18 12 10
NGO 48 45 46 24 10 5
Corporate 47 35 36 15 30 3
“Excellent” (4+5)
Please rate the overall performance of each of the following types of leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda over the past year? Please use a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is “poor” and 5 is “excellent.”
Experts from emerging markets have a more positive view on the performance of all types of leaders except social entrepreneurs
Social entrepreneurs Leaders in the scientific community NGO leaders Leaders of multilateral organizations Corporate leaders 4 3 5 17 15 17 18 37 41 40
45
48
51
55
43
48
34 Europe 21 North America Emerging markets*
Government leaders
*Includes Asia, Africa / Middle East, and Latin America / Caribbean Please rate the overall performance of each of the following types of leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda over the past year? Please use a scale from 1 to 5 where 1 is “poor” and 5 is “excellent.”
For the second year in a row, Unilever is seen as the top corporate sustainability leader, while Patagonia breaks into the top five this year
Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Nike Novo Nordisk Siemens Toyota IBM Nestlé 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 7 7 10 17
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever has a significantly stronger reputation among corporate peers and service/media than among other respondents
Government Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer 10 9 6 9 9 1
NGO 9 8 5 10 6 3
Academic / Research 12 8 6 7 6 3
Corporate 22 11 11 8 7 9
Service Media 24 12 7 5 9 7
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
The top sustainability leaders in 2012 are largely unchanged from 2011
2012
Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Nike Novo Nordisk Siemens Toyota IBM Nestlé 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 5 7 7 7 10 17 Unilever GE Interface Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Patagonia Toyota Novo Nordisk Co-operative Shell 3 3 4 5 5 5
Leadership companies in 2011 and 2012 New entrants in 2012 Leadership company in 2011
2011
15 12 12 11 8
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever and Patagonia have gained “market share” in each of the last two years; meanwhile, GE, and Walmart have seen significant declines
Unilever Interface GE Patagonia Walmart Marks & Spencer Natura Nike Novo Nordisk Siemens Toyota 2 2 2 2 4 3 3 4 4 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 5 2012 2011 2010 3 5 7 7 7 8 15 10 11 11 12 12 17
5
11
13
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever and Patagonia have gained “market share” in each of the last two years; meanwhile, GE, and Walmart have seen significant declines
What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Unilever has a strong reputation among experts in Europe, while Walmart leads in North America and Natura leads in emerging markets
Europe
Unilever Marks & Spencer Interface Novo Nordisk GE Siemens Co-operative IKEA Patagonia Toyota 5 5 4 4 4 4 7 6 9 23
North America
Walmart Interface Unilever Patagonia GE Nike IBM DuPont Johnson & Johnson Starbucks Toyota 4 4 4 6 5 8 11 16 14 14 13
Emerging Markets*
Natura Unilever GE Patagonia Walmart Nedbank Siemens Interface Novo Nordisk Shell Toyota 4 4 4 4 5 5 6 6 8 14 13
*Includes Asia, Africa / Middle East, and Latin America / Caribbean What specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? (OPEN-ENDED)
Experts identify a number of reasons why top companies are regarded as sustainability leaders
Sustainable Living Plan brings together sustainability and business strategy in a way unprecedented for a company of such size and impact. Integrated long-term thinking into their strategy, and as a result have identified the need for more sustainable behavior to protect theirs and society's interests.
Because it focus[es] its own business on products that have better environmental and social impacts than its competitors.
They are “walking the walk”— based on the leadership that Ray Anderson had provided to them.
Challenging business models or at least attempting to… Their radical strategy change in which they convince consumers to consume less—and bring their old clothes for repair.
Sustainability is practiced as a moral and values proposition.
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
Experts identify a number of reasons why top companies are regarded as sustainability leaders
Pushing sustainability through its supply chain… It has set out its sustainability agenda and made it public. Ecomagination continues to be the model for making money from "greener" practices.
Nike has quietly begun focusing on sustainable manufacture of its products, sustainable development of their products and the conception of a sustainable marketplace, in which their products have a high degree of re-use.
Thought leaders on urban sustainability and focusing their core business competencies on an issue that can effect… change on a grand scale in collaboration with other actors in society…
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
A commitment to sustainable values remains the primary reason a company is cited as a sustainability leader
Commitment to sustainability values* Transparency/communication** Sustainable products/services Integration into core business model Innovation/R&D Renewable energy / lowering emissions Supply chain management Environmental/waste/water management Executive leadership has strong SD values 6 6 7 8 8 12 11 10
31
*Sustainability values integrated/embedded / Ambitious goals/targets/policies / Long-term commitment / Actions/results/walk the talk **Transparency / Education/engagement/dialogue/stakeholders / Communication/reporting
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
The “sustainability leadership triangle” reflects how companies can approach and demonstrate commitment to sustainability values
Commitment to sustainability values* Transparency/communication** Sustainable products/services Integration into core business model Innovation/R&D Renewable energy / lowering emissions Supply chain management Environmental/waste/water management Executive leadership has strong SD values 6 6 7 8 8 12 11 10 31
Vision / Strategy
Integration / Performance
Engagement / Communication
*Sustainability values integrated/embedded / Ambitious goals/targets/policies / Long-term commitment / Actions/results/walk the talk **Transparency / Education/engagement/dialogue/stakeholders / Communication/reporting
Why do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in sustainable development? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.
For more information, contact:
Chris Coulter, President chris.coulter@globescan.com GlobeScan Incorporated 65 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 900 Toronto, Canada M4T 2Y3 Toronto: +1 416 962 0707 London: +44 20 7253 1450 San Francisco: +1 415 874 3154 www.globescan.com
Jeff Erikson, Senior Vice President erikson@sustainability.com SustainAbility, Ltd. 1638 R Street NW, Suite 301 Washington, DC 20009 Washington: +1 202 315 4150 London: +44 20 7269 6900 www.sustainability.com
© February 2012 GlobeScan®
Datos
• 825 qualified sustainability experts completed the online questionnaire from January 25 to February 10, 2012.
• Respondents were drawn from: corporate, government, non-governmental, academic/research, service/media, and other organizations.
• Experts surveyed span 76 countries in Asia, Africa / Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America / Caribbean, Australia / New Zealand, and comprise a highly-experienced respondent pool:
• 65 percent have more than ten years of experience working on sustainability issues.
• 28 percent have five to ten years of experience.
• 7 percent have three to four years of experience.
• Respondents with less than three years of sustainability experience have been excluded from the results.