98% of Companies Do Not Achieve Their Sustainability Goals

A new report released Bain & Company, finds that only 2 percent of corporate sustainability programs achieve or exceed their aims, compared to 12 percent of other corporate transformation programs.

These are the results of Achieving Breakthrough Results in Sustainability, a survey of more than 300 companies such as Coca-Cola, Nestlé and Novozymes engaged in sustainability transformation and interviews with the heads of sustainability at companies that have been recognized for their sustainability results.

“Too often, sustainability gets stuck in first gear, while the need for change is accelerating,” said Jenny Davis-Peccoud, who leads Bain’s Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility practice. “Once companies learn to navigate common roadblocks, they open the door to be a leader in the industry.”

Bain found that many employees do not see sustainability as a business imperative, with more than 60 percent of survey respondents citing public reputation as the key driver for sustainability change. Employees also deprioritize sustainability because of perceived business trade-offs and an absence of incentives. Lack of resources and competing priorities are the two top obstacles employees say threaten to derail sustainability programs, and less than a quarter of respondents say they are held accountable for sustainability through incentives.

Source: Sustainable Brands