Respondents indicate that within their company, sustainability is still as important as before the economic crisis. Some even said that there is no crisis in the Netherlands. However, 42% indicate that the focus of their company is more on the short term than on the long term at this moment and 15% indicate that the budgets for sustainability have been reduced. This means that while sustainability is considered to be important, there is a risk of being short on action. Also, 61% say that proving the business case of sustainability will gain importance.

 

When asked how high sustainability is on the agenda of competitors, financers, customers, colleagues and the executive board, respondents scored the executive board as the ones that have sustainability highest on the agenda. According to the respondents, financers are the ones that have sustainability lowest on the agenda. Furthermore, they think that all of these stakeholders will have sustainability higher on the agenda at the end of 2012 compared to now.

 

61% of respondents believes their sustainability agenda is ambitious enough to tackle current and future environmental and social challenges. Still 24% say that the agenda is not ambitious enough  because the focus of the company is not on sustainability at the moment. However, compared to competitors, almost all respondents say that their ambition is just as high or even higher.

 

The most mentioned challenges for sustainability in 2012 are:

·         Further implementation of sustainability within the organisation and commitment to the subject at different levels

·         Development of sustainable propositions that meet customers’ expectations

·         Measurement of impact of sustainability activities

·         Further developing the sustainability agenda despite of economic setback

 

Overall it can be concluded that respondents are positive regarding the position of sustainability in the current economy. However, they give some warning signs regarding short term thinking and cutting of budgets.

We believe it is of fundamental importance to accelerate the transition towards a more efficient and green economy. Long-term strategies remain crucial. Short-termism has put us into the current crisis; let’s avoid the next one.