What can sustainability do for business? In this 8-minute slideshow, Sean Pronay discusses why and when businesses must embrace sustainable practices.

1. Sustainability:

2. Overview
What is sustainability?
How are sustainability & business ethics related?
What can sustainability do for business?
Why don’t all businesses embrace sustainability?
When will businesses grow sustainably?

3. What is sustainability?
Everything people need to survive and flourish
depends on our natural environment
Sustainability maintains harmony between
people and nature
Sustainability fulfills people’s economic, social
and other needs

4. How are sustainability and
business ethics related?
Unfettered capitalism devours natural
resources, broadens socio-economic divides
Existing legal frameworks, globalized market
forces cannot mend these rifts
Businesses can no longer ignore environmental
impact for increased profits

5. What can sustainability
do for business?
Terror attacks sometimes result from Western
companies disregarding people’s welfare
Business strengthens its “license to operate” by
protecting the environment
Sustainable practices value customers’ well-
being; improve brand loyalty

6. Why don’t all businesses
embrace sustainability?
Complexity of putting practices to work
Competing strategic priorities
Various other reasons:
• Lack of recognition from financial markets
• Differing ideas of what social responsibility is
• Challenges of engaging with external groups

7. When will businesses
Consumers drive corporate decisions
Media
grow sustainably?
25
24
Around the world, some businesses already
Regulators
26
25
embrace sustainability 28
Communities
29
2010
United Nations Global Compact shows promise
39
Governments
32 2007
through international collaboration
Employees
45
39
Consumers ultimately determine tipping points
58
Consumers
50
for sustainability
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
% of CEOs say most influential stakeholders are ...
Source: UN Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study 2010