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VIEWPOINT REPORT


VIEWPOINT REPORTIntegrating Sustainability

BUSINESS ASSURANCE

AUTUMN 2016

OCTOBER 2016

Integrating sustainability into the core business. Seizing the change.

BUSINESS ASSURANCE

3

CONTENTS

CURRENT SCENARIOFOREWORD

NOTES TO THE READER

METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLE

INTRODUCTION

FUTURE OUTLOOK OUR FINAL THOUGHTS

Integrating sustainability

into the core business.

What does it mean?

Strategies and policies

Key initiatives

undertaken

Main benefits

Main obstacles

Actions to raise

awareness

Investments and

impacts in the mid-

term

Future tools and

initiatives

Tools to assess

sustainability

integration

Profiling the leaders

Leaders´approach

to integration

sustainability

07 26 33

08 27

34

3112

17

24

25

4VIEWPOINT REPORT

1 Primary: agriculture; secondary: manufacturing; tertiary: services, transportation.2 The leaders’ characteristics are reported in the text boxes throughout the report and summarized in the final section, “Profiling the leaders”.

INTRODUCTIONDNV GL – Business Assurance and EY, supported by the international research institute GFK Eurisko, have investigated how companies in different industries in Europe, North America, South America and Asia deal with integrating sustainability into their core business. The survey was conducted in June 2016 and investigated DNV GL – Business Assurance customers’ approach to sustainability integration, the initiatives they implement and the benefits they reap. The survey of more than 1,500 professionals from the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors1 revealed a high level of interest in the topic, despite the complexity of the issue.

Numbers for companies adopting an advanced approach were higher than expected. Nearly half of the respondents said that their company is working to integrate sustainability in its overall business strategy, recognizing that management systems play a crucial role in integration This reflects a transition of the perception of sustainability as something that should be integrated, rather than viewing it as an add-on to current core business strategies. Moreover, the survey highlights the fact that companies are increasingly seeing sustainability as a means to achieve market advantages and financial benefits. In this context, a group of companies, hereinafter called leaders, seem to be a step ahead. They are already integrating sustainability into their core business activities, such as processes, business model and purpose, and are reaping significant benefits.2

FOREWORD

Today, more than ever, people involved in defining corporate strategies must be able to build a solid structure on which they can rely to protect and develop their business assets and to ensure their organization a long lasting future.

In order to sustain a long lasting and successful business, there is a growing need to integrate sustainability into the core business, which means using sustainability as a driver, as a primary premise in determining business strategies.

Thus, sustainability is not a separate process or an add-on to the core company strategy; it is integrated into the long-term strategies, business policies and objectives, and incorporated into operational processes and procedures.

In this way, companies can shape their strategy and operations to address change, meeting expectations and needs that arise from all stakeholders while at the same time increasing competitiveness and sustaining profitability.

Leading certification body DNV GL – Business Assurance, together with the world-renowned advisor EY, has tried to investigate the maturity of this approach.

5VIEWPOINT REPORT

Figure 1: Companies in the sample. Geographic breakdown.

45%Europe

36%Asia

8%North America

8%Central and South America

3%Others

ATTRIBUTES OF COMPANIES IN THE LEADERS GROUP

■ The company has a clear understanding of what sustainability integration means

■ Sustainability is integrated in the business through a specific strategy/policy

■ The company has set measurable goals on sustainability integration

■ The company has invested in sustainability integration initiatives in the last 3 years

■ The company rates benefits from integrating sustainability initiatives higher than costs

■ In the next 3 years, the company will invest in sustainability integration initiatives the same or more than today

■ The sample includes 142 companies defined as leaders. The classification of a company as a leader is based on a list of attributes defined by DNV GL – Business Assurance and EY.

■ The questionnaire was administered using the CAWI (Computer Assisted Web Interviewing) methodology.

■ The survey was conducted in June 2016. It involved 1,524 professionals in companies in the primary, secondary and tertiary sectors across different sectors in Europe, North America, Central & South America and Asia.

■ The sample consists of DNV GL - Business Assurance customers and is not statistically representative of companies worldwide.

METHODOLOGY AND SURVEY SAMPLE

6VIEWPOINT REPORT

Figure 2: Companies in the sample. Industries and sizes (n° of employees)

INDUSTRY COMPANY SIZE

23,2%

10,4%

17,8%

17,3%

23,9%

7,4%

<50

50-99

100-249

250-999

1000 +

Missing

■ The graphs report the scores obtained by the total of respondents, by respondents in different regions, by large companies employing more than 1,000 people and by leaders.

■ For the reader’s convenience, the word average has been used throughout the text to indicate the scores obtained by all respondents.

NOTES TO THE READER

■ In the graphs contained herein, red circles highlight data significantly below average. Green circles highlight data significantly above average.

■ In the graphs, the symbol * indicates that the sample size is small.

■ Graphics in figures 3, 8, 9, 11, 12, 13 and 16 refer to questions with multiple answers. All other graphs refer to single answer questions, with answers adding up to 100%.

DNV GL ©

DRAFT

Sample- Company size function and Industry-

Company size 23,2%

10,4%

17,8%

17,3%

23,9%

7,4%

<50

50-99

100-249

250-999

1000 +

Missing

Industry

4,8%

51,4%

6,3%

3,8%

4,8%

10,3%

6,6%

4,1%

15,5%

34,6%

3,2%

5,9%

3,9%

9,3%

3,5%

8,9%

9,2%

PRIMARY

SECONDARY

Food

Chemical

Plastic

Metals

Machinery

Electrical

Other secondary

TERTIARY

Electrical

Construction

Wholesale

Transport

Health

Other tertiary

Missing

Function/area

53,5%

12,1%

7,2%

2,4%

2,2%

1,9%

1,6%

1,6%

0,3%

6,0%

11,2%

Compliance (Quality Environment Safety etc.)

Top Management

Operations

Marketing/Communication

Finance/administration

Research & Development

Purchase

Human resourcesLegal affairs / external

relationsOther

Missing

TOTAL1.524

7VIEWPOINT REPORT

INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO THE CORE BUSINESS. WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

DNV GL – Business Assurance has, in collaboration with EY, elaborated the definition of sustainability integration as “a concept whereby companies shape their strategy and operations to address change and meet expectations and needs that arise not only from the market but from society as well, in order to increase competitiveness and sustain long lasting profitability”. This definition served as the hypothesis for the survey. In order to test how much this is shared and understood in the business community, the respondents were also asked to express their opinion on the above description. 87% of respondents rated it as appropriate.

More than half of the respondents highlight that measuring and monitoring the social, environmental and economic impacts of their business is a central aspect of sustainability integration, with rates even higher in North and Central and South America (both at 67%).

The creation of sustainable products is indicated by 38%. The adoption of social and environmental management systems immediately follows, denoting how this is perceived as a real management and integration tool rather than a necessity to achieve compliance.

Among other interpretations, there are the adoption of sustainable supply chain management (35%), responding to unmet social needs (12%) and the disclosure of both financial and extra-financial information on company performance (8%). The ranking of importance does not change in different world regions, but the intensity does. Creating a sustainable product seems to be rated higher in Asia than in other regions, likely due to the pressure that retailers and other stakeholders put on producers. Apart from a more intense focus on measuring the impacts, North America records lower than average values for the other aspects. With percentages higher than average across the board, companies employing more than 1,000 people appear to have more advanced levels of awareness and alignment with the proposed definition.

56,4%

38,3%

37,8%

34,8%

12,0%

8,0%

3,6%

3,0%

Measure and monitor social, environmental and economic impacts of business

Create a sustainable product

Adopt a social and environmental management system

Adopt a sustainable supply chain management

Answer to unmet social needs

Disclose both financial and extra-financial information on company performance

Other

I don't know

TOTAL1.524

Europe Asia North America

CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

55,8% 52,5% 67,0% 67,0%

36,2% 46,4% 30,4% 24,1%

44,4% 30,6% 29,6% 35,7%

36,4% 34,5% 24,3% 33,9%

9,5% 18,0% 3,5% 10,7%

10,4% 6,3% 4,3% 4,5%

4,6% 2,8% 4,3% 0,9%

2,2% 4,1% 4,3% 2,7%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

68,1%

45,1%

44,2%

44,2%

13,5%

13,7%

3,0%

1,9%

Leaders

n=142

68,3%

46,5%

52,1%

43,7%

18,3%

16,9%

4,9%

-

CURRENT SCENARIO

WHAT DOES INTEGRATING SUSTAINABILITY INTO CORE BUSINESS MEAN TO YOU? (multiple choice)

Figure 3: What is sustainability integration?

Not only do LEADERS agree on the general definition of “sustainability integration” but, with percentages higher than average for all the items, they seem well aware of what sustainability specifically means to them Measuring and monitoring aspects are crucial (68%). Adoption of a management system is indicated by more than half.

TOTAL1,524

8VIEWPOINT REPORT

% Top 2 Boxes5 + 4

43,8


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

43,5% 45,1% 43,5% 40,2%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

52,8%

(5,3%) (12%) (5,2%) (3,5%) (5,3%)(DK/DA 7,6%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

% Top 2 Boxes5 + 4

43,8


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

43,5% 45,1% 43,5% 40,2%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

52,8%

(5,3%) (12%) (5,2%) (3,5%) (5,3%)(DK/DA 7,6%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

Numbers for companies adopting an advanced approach are higher than expected. Nearly half of the respondents claim they integrate sustainability into their overall business strategy, with rates higher for larger businesses (53%).

% yes

58,8


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

60,8% 59,0% 52,2% 59,8%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

68,7%

(11,3%) (21,7%) (24,3%) (10,7%) (15,4)(DK/DA 15,8%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

% yes

48,8


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

47,2% 51,6% 47,8% 47,3%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

60,4%

(14,1%) (22,8%) (23,5%) (10,7%) (17,9%)(DK/DA 17,5%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

STRATEGIES AND POLICIES

TO WHAT EXTENT IS SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATED IN YOUR COMPANY’S OVERALL BUSINESS STRATEGY, WHERE 5 IS “TO A HIGH EXTENT” AND 1 IS “NOT AT ALL”?

DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE A SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION STRATEGY/POLICY?

Figure 4: Integration of sustainability into overall business strategies

Figure 5: Adoption of ad hoc sustainability integration policies

LEADERS integrate sustainability in their overall business strategy.

TOTAL1,524

TOTAL1,524

9VIEWPOINT REPORT

Around 6 in 10 have a sustainability integration policy and 49% set measurable goals on this. Large companies’ rates are higher for both aspects, which could indicate that they are ahead of the game.

The trend is similar in all regions, apart from North America, where rates for sustainability strategy adoption are below average.

% yes

48,8


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

47,2% 51,6% 47,8% 47,3%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

60,4%

(14,1%) (22,8%) (23,5%) (10,7%) (17,9%)(DK/DA 17,5%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

% yes

48,8


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

47,2% 51,6% 47,8% 47,3%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

60,4%

(14,1%) (22,8%) (23,5%) (10,7%) (17,9%)(DK/DA 17,5%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

DOES YOUR COMPANY HAVE MEASURABLE GOALS ON SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION?

Figure 6: Setting measurable goals for sustainability integration

LEADERS have a sustainability integration policy. They set measurable goals.

TOTAL1,524

10VIEWPOINT REPORT

3 “Sustainable Product: what’s your approach?”, Viewpoint survey, Summer 2013. www.dnvgl.com/viewpoint

11VIEWPOINT REPORT

Integrating sustainability into the core business appears to be a recognized need by companies, given the key role that it plays for customers. Concerns about the sustainability of natural resources are rising, and the reduction of impacts is becoming a key aspect in influencing purchasing behavior. Our previous ViewPoint survey on companies' approach to sustainable products revealed that pressure from customers is reported as the number one reason driving corporations to deliver sustainable products worldwide. Sustainability seems to be a core issue regardless of company size. Of course, the larger the corporations, the more initiatives they undertake. However, small firms seem to be working substantially on these issues too. Companies appear to recognize that a greater commitment to sustainability is a crucial step for market success. Corporations that implemented initiatives for delivering sustainable products confirmed that they benefited especially in terms of their ability to meet customer needs and brand

reputation enhancement.* This has effects all along the value chain. Since sustainability is central for consumers when they choose an item, it is central also for companies when choosing a partner. With globalization and a rising number of intermediaries, it becomes fundamental to rely on a secure and defendable supply chain.

Actually, sustainability of supply chains is climbing the corporate agenda worldwide because of market demand. When selecting a supplier or making purchasing decisions, 96% of companies consider sustainability aspects.

Nearly half of the companies already adopt formal supply chain strategies contemplating sustainability and the majority do it because they experience pressure directly from their customers, who seem to be the stakeholder group mostly interested in sustainability. Other interested stakeholders are authorities, local communities, NGOs and unions. Sustainability is a fast developing requirement, mainly driven by customers. Companies that do not adopt any measures will have a hard time competing.

*Sustainable Product: what's your approach?", Viewpoint survey, Summer 2013. dnvgl.com/viewpoint

SUSTAINABILITY, A KEY ASPECT FOR CUSTOMERS

12VIEWPOINT REPORT

More than half of the respondents reported having invested in sustainability integration initiatives in the last 3 years. Large companies (68%) stand out for proportions above average. North America (47%) once again records lower rates, indicating less concern with these issues.

% yes

55,6


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

57,6% 54,7% 47,0% 58,9%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

68,1%

(17,3%) (24,3%) (32,1%) (11,6%) (20,6%)(DK/DA 20,4%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

% yes

55,6


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

57,6% 54,7% 47,0% 58,9%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

68,1%

(17,3%) (24,3%) (32,1%) (11,6%) (20,6%)(DK/DA 20,4%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

% yes

55,6


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

57,6% 54,7% 47,0% 58,9%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

68,1%

(17,3%) (24,3%) (32,1%) (11,6%) (20,6%)(DK/DA 20,4%)

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

100%

(0%)

KEY INITIATIVES UNDERTAKEN

HAS YOUR COMPANY INVESTED IN SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION INITIATIVES IN THE LAST 3 YEARS?

WHICH OF THE FOLLOWING INITIATIVES REGARDING SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION HAS YOUR COMPANY TAKEN? (multiple responses)

Figure 7: Investment in sustainability integration initiatives

Figure 8: Sustainability integration initiatives

LEADERS have invested in sustainability initiatives in the last 3 years.


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

36,6% 23,7% 33,0% 39,3%

28,6% 32,3% 23,5% 26,8%

22,7% 26,2% 20,0% 19,6%

25,4% 19,1% 13,9% 30,4%

20,5% 23,7% 31,3% 18,8%

22,1% 20,6% 20,0% 22,3%

16,8% 21,5% 18,3% 25,0%

16,6% 18,2% 22,6% 10,7%

16,6% 15,8% 16,5% 17,9%

14,8% 17,4% 21,7% 9,8%

18,7% 9,6% 12,2% 11,6%

11,3% 13,2% 18,3% 16,1%

8,9% 11,3% 13,0% 16,1%

9,1% 7,4% 10,4% 10,7%

5,0% 3,2% 6,1% 6,3%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

46,7%

44,2%

34,3%

33,2%

36,8%

33,2%

29,4%

29,1%

24,7%

27,2%

29,7%

22,3%

17,9%

16,5%

4,7%

31,5%29,6%

23,1%22,6%22,2%21,7%19,5%17,6%16,3%15,7%14,5%12,9%11,1%8,9%

4,5%

Setting environmental impact reduction policies

Setting and implementing sustainable strategies

Sustainable product developmentDiffusion of a sustainability culture both inside

and outside the companySustainable supply chain management

Stakeholder engagement

Implementing a risk/opportunity assessment

Conducting a ‘materiality analysis'

Assessing social impact

Product life cycle assessment

Integrated and/or sustainability reportingImplementing a specific business continuity plan

(bcp)Defining and implementing sustainability controls

Implementing ‘shared value creation' initiatives

Other

TOTAL1,524

Leaders

n=142

61,3%

80,3%

54,9%

53,5%

56,3%

50,0%

43,0%

44,4%

42,3%

39,4%

37,3%

31,7%

31,0%

28,9%

4,9%

!

!

TOTAL1,524

13VIEWPOINT REPORT

The most common sustainability integration actions taken by the companies are connected to tangible initiatives that influence business practices. Policies for reduction of impacts (32%), setting and implementing sustainable strategies (30%), sustainable product develop-ment (23%), diffusion of sustainability culture (23%) and supply chain management (22%) top the ranking. What may be perceived as more direct sustainability initiatives, such as risk/opportunity assessment (20%), materiality analysis (18%) and assessing social impacts (16%) register lower rates. For respondents, integrating sustainability in core business seems to mean putting in place actions and behaviors that affect daily practices and thus affect management practices.

From a geographical perspective, it is worth noting that environmental impact reduction is rated among the most important initiatives across all regions, with Central and South America rating it highest at 39%, followed by Europe (37%), North America (33%) andAsia (24%).

Asia rates higher compared with the other regions when it comes to sustainable strategies (32%) and sustainable product development (26%), likely due to the pressure that retailers and stakeholders put on producers in that region.

North America seems more focused on sustainable supply chain management (31%); this might be due to the need to demonstrate to stakeholders that they chose socially responsible suppliers. Sustainability reporting is reported particularly high for Europe, with 19% against 10-12% for the other regions, possibly due to the new EU Directive on non-financial reporting. Large companies are more active, with above average rates for all categories of initiatives.

Setting and implementing sustainable strategies is a reality for almost all LEADERS (80%).

LEADERS record higher percentages on initiatives of shared value creation; more than three times higher than average.

14VIEWPOINT REPORT

15VIEWPOINT REPORT

ISO 26000 FOR SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITYISO 26000 is an international standard providing guidance about how an organization can improve its social responsibility and thus contribute to sustainable development. It is designed to work in all organizational and cultural contexts. It was released in 2010 as a result of a multi-stakeholder approach involving six stakeholder groups worldwide: Industry, Government, NGO, Labor Organizations, Consumer Associations, and SSRO (Service, Support, Research and Other). The aim was to make ISO 26000 accessible and usable by all organizations in different countries. In essence, ISO 26000 introduces a new cultural approach, a different business model and an innovative way to see and manage relations between businesses, public administrations, consumers, workers, NGOs, financial markets and the environment, providing a holistic key for interpreting a sustainable future. This vision of great innovation supported the decision to revise it every three years, instead of five, as ISO standards suggest. ISO 26000 is neither a management system nor a certifiable standard. Instead, it is a voluntary guidance standard – which means it does not contain requirements such as those used in certification standards.

ISO 26000 defines the principles that an organization should respect when taking into consideration its objective to maximize contribution to sustainable development, in other words:

■ Ethical Behaviors■ Law compliance■ International behavioral norms

compliance■ Human rights ■ Stakeholder interest ■ Transparency■ Accountability

On the other hand, the 7 core subjects identified by ISO 26000 are meant to provide an indication of the material areas that an organization should take into consideration when evaluating its sustainability impacts.

The Seven Core Subjects, which every user of ISO 26000 should consider, are:

■ Organizational governance■ Human rights■ Labor practices■ Environment■ Fair operating practices■ Consumer issues■ Community involvement and

development

16VIEWPOINT REPORT

The market welcomed the focus on these aspects. Several social responsibility-related standards and guidelines have been introduced worldwide, directly and indirectly, referring to ISO 26000. For example:

■ Danish Standard has developed DS 49001 for the certification of sustainable business processes. It includes a large number of requirements, ranging from responsible management, human rights and working conditions to environmental conditions, good business practices and more.

■ NEN Standards Committee on Social Responsibility has developed the Dutch code of practice NPR 9026 allowing organizations to communicate that they adhere to the principles of ISO 26000.

■ British Standards Institution developed BS8900 “Guidance for managing sustainable development”.

■ AFNOR proposes the AFAQ 26000 assessment to help organizations assess the relevance and level of maturity of their practices under ISO 26000.

■ In the Netherlands, the certifiable “CSR Performance Ladder” has become a direct substitute for ISO 26000. It is based on several international guidelines for CSR, including ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and the Global Reporting Initiative.

■ The national standards bodies of Brazil, Portugal and Spain have offered a certifiable social responsibility management systems standard since 2004, 2007 and 2009, respectively.

■ In April 2016, the Italian UNI published the handbook “Social Responsibility in Organizations – Guidance in the application of UNI ISO26000”.

MARKET REACTIONS

17VIEWPOINT REPORT

MAIN BENEFITSThere is no single recipe for integrating sustainability into the core business, but it is certain that the vast majority of companies surveyed benefited from them. Almost none reported a lack of benefits from initiatives undertaken.

Companies mainly obtained market-related benefits (41%), but financial benefits (27%) also proved to be particularly significant.Insofar as market-related advantages are concerned, 29% improved relations with their customers, 28% increased brand reputation and 17% gained market differentiation. Companies also reported advantages due to achieved compliance with laws (33%).

Financial savings were perceived as a benefit by 17% of respondents, while 12% also saw benefits in terms of safeguarding company assets. Improved relations with investors was reported by

10% of respondents, a benefit that is particularly appreciated by listed companies. The trend is similar in all regions and for large companies too; benefits are just more intense for the latter group.

For 1 in 2 benefits are considered to outweigh costs. Moreover, advantages perceived varied depending on the kind of initiatives implemented. The following chart highlights the main benefits ob-tained considering the type of initiative undertaken.

LEADERS benefited well above average from all actions undertaken. 90% reported market related advantages.

WHAT BENEFITS DID YOUR COMPANY ACHIEVE FROM THE ACTIONS UNDERTAKEN? (multiple responses)

Figure 9: Benefits obtained from sustainability integration initiatives


CentralSouth

American=388 n=295 n=54 n=66

39,2% 44,7% 33,0% 46,4%

26,3% 31,2% 27,0% 33,9%

26,9% 31,7% 24,3% 25,9%

15,9% 17,8% 12,2% 25,9%

35,5% 28,0% 26,1% 43,8%

26,3% 27,5% 26,1% 33,0%

18,0% 15,8% 19,1% 17,9%

9,6% 11,5% 7,0% 11,6%

9,5% 15,8% 13,0% 11,6%

21,2% 19,3% 16,5% 23,2%

16,0% 22,3% 18,3% 19,6%

11,3% 18,9% 12,2% 11,6%

5,3% 4,5% 7,8% 6,3%

0,7% 0,2% 0,0% 0,0%

2,1% 1,9% 6,1% 0,9%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=248

51,6%

36,0%

41,2%

20,6%

45,3%

39,8%

25,5%

19,5%

19,2%

28,6%

23,1%

20,3%

6,3%

0,0%

4,9%

41,1%29,0%28,3%

16,9%32,5%

27,0%17,0%

10,0%12,4%

20,5%18,4%

14,2%5,1%

0,4%2,2%

MARKET POSITIONING

Improved relations with customers/consumersCompetitive advantage/increased brand

reputationMarket differentiation

ACHIEVED COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS

FINANCIAL S BENEFITS

Financial savings

Improved relations with investors

Safeguarding the company assets

RELATIONS WITH OTHER STAKEHOLDERS

PRODUCT AND PROCESS INNOVATIONS

EFFECTIVE SUPPLY PARTNERSHIP

Other benefits

No benefits achieved

I don't know

TOTAL1,524

c

Leaders

n=142

87,3%

67,6%

76,8%

35,2%

71,1%

64,8%

41,5%

29,6%

32,4%

56,3%

48,6%

47,9%

10,6%

0,0%

0,7%

18VIEWPOINT REPORT

Europe AsiaNorth

America*

CentralSouth

America*

n=291 n=216 N=32 n=56

23,4% 13,5% 28,1% 26,8%

34,0% 30,5% 31,3% 32,2%

42,6% 56,0% 40,6% 41,0%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=172

18,6%

30,9%

50,5%

20,2%

32,5%

47,2%

Benefits lower than costs

Benefits equal to costs

Benefits greater than costs

TOTAL631

Respondents

*Attention low bases

Leaders

n=142

0,0%

0,0%

100,0%

Figure 11: Actions implemented and associated main benefits

31,5%29,6%

23,1%22,6%22,2%21,7%19,5%17,6%16,3%15,7%14,5%12,9%11,1%8,9%

4,5%

Setting environmental impact reduction policies

Setting and implementing sustainable strategies

Sustainable product development

Sustainable supply chain management

Stakeholder engagement

Implementing a risk/opportunity assessment

Conducting a ‘materiality analysis’

Assessing social impact

Product life cycle assessment

Integrated and/or sustainability reporting

Implementing a specific business continuity plan (bcp)

Defining and implementing sustainability controls

Implementing ‘shared value creation’ initiatives

Other

Diffusion of a sustainability culture both inside and outside the company

Compliance with laws

Competitive adv./ brand rep

Competitive adv./ brand rep.; innovation; mrkt different.

Competitive advantage/ brand reputation

Supply chain partnership Competitive adv/ brand rep

Relations with other stakeholders


Competitive adv./ brand rep; relations with customers

Relations with other stakehold.; Competitive adv./ brand rep

Innovation; Competitive adv./ brand rep



Competitive adv./ brand rep

Safeguarding the company assets

TOTAL1,524

Area where the specific acttion undertak-en add more value in terms of benefits

HOW DO YOU RATE THE OVERALL COST/BENEFIT RATIO FOR THE ACTIONS YOUR COMPANY HAS UNDERTAKEN?

Figure 10: Cost/benefit ratio

For LEADERS benefits are unambiguously greater than costs.

ACTION UNDERTAKEN BENEFITS ACHIEVED

Europe AsiaNorth

America*

CentralSouth

America*

n=291 n=216 N=32 n=56

23,4% 13,5% 28,1% 26,8%

34,0% 30,5% 31,3% 32,2%

42,6% 56,0% 40,6% 41,0%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=172

18,6%

30,9%

50,5%

20,2%

32,5%

47,2%

Benefits lower than costs

Benefits equal to costs

Benefits greater than costs

TOTAL631

Respondents


Leaders

n=142

0,0%

0,0%

100,0%

19VIEWPOINT REPORT

STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT AND THE NEW 2015 ISO SERIESStakeholders or interested parties are those individuals or groups who can affect or be affected by an organization and its activities.

The development of meaningful relations with your stakeholders can bring about many advantages, particularly in the area of risk management, innovation and market development. Investigating and understanding your stakeholders’ views can lead to minimized reputation issues, a greater understanding of market dynamics and an enhanced organizational problem-solving capacity. Studies show that when stakeholder cooperation is successfully pursued, a company’s net present value could be improved by 50 % on average.*

Stakeholder engagement is meant to be mainly interactive, and relevant parties shall be given the opportunity to participate in a two-way communication process. It can either begin as a response to a stakeholder’s concern or be proactively initiated by your organization. It can be either informal or established through formal consultations and can take place in a wide variety of ways: conferences, advisory committees, round-table discussions, public hearings and online questionnaires, for example.

Also ISO, the International Organization for Standardization, has recently reinforced the concept of stakeholders and the value and need to identify their demands in the recent HLS (High Level Structure). The identical core text, common terms and core definitions are part of all future ISO Standards.

Clause 4.2 of this HLS (adopted in the recently published 2015 revisions of the quality and environmental management systems standards) requires organizations to understand the needs and expectations of interested parties. In a recent Viewpoint Espresso survey conducted on our customers we have investigated how companies plan to satisfy this new requirement from ISO. The chart to the right shows the answers from more than one thousand respondents.

The top 3 rankings for clause 4.2 demonstrate that many companies have a correct understanding of the intention of the requirement, i.e.:

» Mapping both internal and external stakeholders;

» Don’t limit the mapping to legal/regulatory stakeholders, but consider all relevant interested parties (including implicit needs and expectations);

» Account for the dynamics of their business environment by doing a regular review, not a one-off mapping.

The second cluster of actions chosen also demonstrates a good generic understanding among the respondents as to how to satisfy the requirement, i.e. by documenting the process and the outcome and proactively engaging with the interested parties.

The complete results from the abovementioned Espresso Survey can be found here: dnvgl.com/espresso

*SustaiNet, “The economic benefits of stakeholder engagement,” http://sustainet.com/economic-benefits-of-stakeholder-engagement/ (2014).

21VIEWPOINT REPORT

45%5%0%15%

20%25%

30%

Don’t know 12,4

35%40%

By documenting the relevant interested parties and their requirements

35,2

None of the above

47,5

By determining external interested parties only

1

By embedding the relevant views and requirements of interested parties in your decision-making process

19,1

Proactively engaging interested parties to understand their requirements

29,9

By determining all relevant requirements from interested parties (included implicit needs or expectations)

38,5

Other initiatives

By producing a ”materiality matrix” for understanding what requirements are most material for both the organization and interested parties

By determining only legal requirements

By having a documented process for mapping interested parties and their relevant requirements

By reviewing interested parties and their requirements on a regular basis

By determining external and internal interested parties (including e.g. employees, shareholders, etc.)

10%50%

4,2

7,5

14,9

22,2

28,8

29,5

How companies will meet requirement 4.2 (understanding the needs and expectations of interested parties) in the future.

Viewpoint Espresso survey 2/2015. dnvgl.com/espresso

22VIEWPOINT REPORT

23VIEWPOINT REPORT

THE CONCEPT OF CREATING SHARED VALUECreating Shared Value (CSV) is a business strategy introduced between 2007 and 2011 through a series of articles that appeared in the Harvard Business Review by Michael E. Porter, the head of the Institute for Strategy and Competitiveness at Harvard Business School, and Mark R. Kramer, senior fellow at Harvard Business School and co-founder and Managing Director of FSG, a non-profit consulting firm specializing in strategy, evaluation and research.

In the CSV concept, as stated in 2011 in Creating Shared Value: “Redefining Capitalism and the Role of the Corporation in Society”, the competitiveness of companies and the wellbeing of the communities around them are interdependent. Companies have a chance to create measurable business value by identifying and addressing social problems that intersect with their business, creating new opportunities for companies, civil society organizations and governments to leverage market-based solutions to address social problems and needs. This, according to Porter and Kramer can happen in 3 ways:

■ Rethinking products and markets. Companies can meet social needs while better serving existing markets, accessing new ones, or lowering costs through innovation.

■ Redefining productivity along the value chain. Companies can improve the quality, quantity, cost and reliability of inputs and distribution while they simultaneously act as stewards for essential natural resources and drive economic and social development.

■ Enabling local cluster development. Companies do not operate in isolation from their surroundings. To compete and thrive, for example, they need reliable local suppliers, a functioning infrastructure of roads and telecommunications, access to talent and an effective and predictable legal system.

In the last 5 years the CSV approach has been embraced by many of the world’s most renowned companies, with varied scale and commitment.

24VIEWPOINT REPORT


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

44,4% 22,4% 38,3% 40,2%

26,4% 28,8% 16,5% 25,9%

24,9% 23,6% 20,0% 22,3%

16,2% 32,3% 14,8% 23,2%

17,5% 28,2% 12,2% 28,6%

19,1% 17,6% 19,1% 20,5%

16,6% 19,1% 14,8% 25,0%

14,4% 21,5% 19,1% 10,7%

16,8% 14,3% 13,9% 15,2%

8,3% 17,4% 9,6% 14,3%

6,1% 4,8% 5,2% 5,4%

8,6% 5,8% 8,7% 8,0%

7,3% 7,6% 20,0% 3,6%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

36,3%

30,5%

25,3%

20,9%

23,6%

20,3%

18,4%

18,4%

21,7%

15,4%

4,7%

8,8%

11,5%

35,6%

26,4%

24,1%

22,4%

21,9%

18,4%

18,4%

17,3%

15,7%

12,1%

5,6%

7,7%

7,9%

Other company's priorities

Focus is on short term results

Lack of management awareness

Lack of staff competences

Implementation and maintenance is too expensive

Lack of return on investment

Lack of significant interest by stakeholders

Lack of consensus about what to do

Complexity of the implementation process

Lack of useful theoretical instrument

Other

No barriers perceived that prevent progress

I don't know

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

28,2%

21,1%

13,4%

17,6%

21,1%

18,3%

16,2%

12,7%

18,3%

12,0%

9,2%

25,4%

1,4%

MAIN OBSTACLESThe principal obstacles to progress in sustainability integration mainly relate to other priorities or to the lack of commitment and or competence.

The main obstacle to making progress in sustainability integration is considered to be other priorities (36%). 26% consider the need to focus on short term results to be a barrier. Lack of management awareness and of staff competences count for 24% and 22% respectively.

Other priorities are a problem especially in Europe (44%) and in Central and South America (40%). Rates are in line with the average for

Barriers are less relevant to LEADERS. 1 in 4 even report that there are no barriers that prevent progress.

WHAT FACTORS MAY HAVE PREVENTED YOUR COMPANY FROM MAKING MORE PROGRESS IN SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION? (multiple responses)

Figure12: Main obstacles

North America (38%), while the most relevant barrier in Asia is the lack of staff competence (32%).

The need to focus on short terms results is particularly high for large companies (31%) against an average of 26%.

TOTAL1,524

25VIEWPOINT REPORT

ACTIONS TO RAISE AWARENESS In order to raise awareness on their engagement for integrating sustainability into their core business, 28% of the companies surveyed reported that they developed corporate communication activities.

24% of respondents indicated that they publish information about their company’s sustainability performance and that they use third party certification for the purpose of raising awareness of sustainability integration actions.

About 19% answered that they made claims in marketing activities and only 7% indicated use of product sustainability declaration verification. Large companies generally engaged in actions to raise awareness at much higher rates for all activities.

LEADERS undertake more actions than others to raise awareness around their sustainability integration initiatives. They engage in corporate communication activities at much higher rates.


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

29,2% 28,0% 27,8% 25,0%

30,4% 18,7% 13,0% 25,9%

27,9% 21,2% 12,2% 21,4%

18,8% 21,0% 20,0% 14,3%

7,7% 7,8% 1,7% 4,5%

8,0% 6,7% 7,8% 11,6%

4,5% 5,9% 1,7% 3,6%

1,0% 2,6% 7,0% 3,6%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

41,8%

42,3%

29,1%

28,8%

11,5%

9,3%

1,6%

3,6%

28,1%

24,1%

23,6%

19,2%

6,9%

8,1%

4,8%

2,2%

Corporate communication activities development/launch

Published information about your sustainability performances

Used an externally recognized certificate/statement

Made claims in marketing activities

Product sustainability declaration verification

Other actions

(has invested but) No actions undertaken

I don't know

TOTAL1,524

Leaders

n=142

71,8%

54,2%

57,7%

44,4%

22,5%

14,1%

2,8%

2,1%

IN THE LAST 3 YEARS, HAVE YOU TAKEN ANY OF THE FOLLOWING ACTIONS TO RAISE AWARENESS OF WHAT YOUR COMPANY IS DOING IN SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION? (multiple responses)

Figure13: Action to raise awareness

26VIEWPOINT REPORT

INVESTMENTS AND IMPACTS IN THE MID-TERMQuestioned on the mid-term future, companies surveyed indicated a significant relevance both regarding impact of and investments in sustainability integration.

35% of the companies respond that they expect sustainability integration will directly affect their core business "to a high extent". Larger businesses are more aware than others. Propensity for investment confirms this expectation.

About 90% report that they will keep investing in sustainability integration. 45% are willing to invest even more than today; percentages are slightly higher in North America and for large companies.

% Top 2 Boxes5 + 4

35,4


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

35,3% 34,3% 36,5% 28,5%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

41,4%

TOTAL1.524

(17,2%) (21,7%) (15,7%) (13,5%) (16,3%)(DK/DA 18,4%)

Leaders

n=142

76,0%

(0,0%)

% Top 2 Boxes5 + 4

35,4


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

35,3% 34,3% 36,5% 28,5%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

41,4%

TOTAL1.524

(17,2%) (21,7%) (15,7%) (13,5%) (16,3%)(DK/DA 18,4%)

Leaders

n=142

76,0%

(0,0%)

% Top 2 Boxes5 + 4

35,4


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

35,3% 34,3% 36,5% 28,5%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

41,4%

TOTAL1.524

(17,2%) (21,7%) (15,7%) (13,5%) (16,3%)(DK/DA 18,4%)

Leaders

n=142

76,0%

(0,0%)

44,6%

45,3%

4,9%

5,2%

More than today

Same as today

Less than today

No investments at all

Europe AsiaNorth

America*

CentralSouth

American=449 n=297 n=58 n=76

43,4% 40,7% 50,0% 51,3%

50,2% 42,5% 41,5% 42,1%

2,3% 9,1% 5,2% 4,0%

4,2% 7,8% 3,4% 2,7%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=214

50,0%

43,0%

4,3%

2,7%

RESPONDENTS934


Leaders

n=142

52,1%

47,9%

0,0%

0,0%

FUTURE OUTLOOK

HOW MUCH DO YOU FORESEE INTEGRATION OF SUSTAINABILITY INTO CORE BUSINESS WILL AFFECT YOUR BUSINESS IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS FROM 5 TO 1, WHERE 5 IS “TO A HIGH EXTENT” AND 1 IS “NOT AT ALL”?

IS YOUR COMPANY GOAING TO INVEST IN SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS?

Figure14: Impact of sustainability integration on businesses in the mid-term future

Figure15: Investments in the mid-term future

For 76% of LEADERS the integration of sustainability into core business will directly affect their business in the mid-term.

No LEADER will invest less than today in the next 3 years.

TOTAL1,524

27VIEWPOINT REPORT

FUTURE TOOLS AND INITIATIVESCompanies see the biggest potential for sustainability integration in the next 3 years as mainly linked to the adoption of management systems.

The way management systems are evolving and the revision of the main international standards, which is increasingly focused on the context in which companies operate, contributes to making them effective management tools. They help companies to integrate strategies, policies, procedures and measurement systems to build sustainable business performance, rather than being used solely to achieve compliance.

Adoption of management systems is indicated by 53% of the respondents, with rates rising respectively to 58% and 63% in Asia and Central and South America.

Engagement of stakeholders (34%) and the creation of sustainable product innovation (30%) follow.

Other tools, practices and initiatives indicated by respondents are measurement of product environmental footprint (23%), definition of a code of ethics (21%) and the use of social impact assessment tools (20%).

Percentages vary but the attitude is similar in all regions and for large companies, with the exception of the adoption of management systems.

WHAT TOOLS, PRACTICES, INITIATIVES DO YOU PERCEIVE AS HAVING THE BIGGEST POTENTIAL FOR SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION IN THE NEXT 3 YEARS? (multiple responses)

Figure16: Future initiatives

LEADERS will keep relying on management systems (+10% than average).

They will also resort to all other tools and initiatives in an above average proportion.


CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

48,8% 57,5% 38,3% 62,5%

32,8% 32,5% 31,3% 40,2%

26,0% 38,2% 20,0% 17,9%

22,8% 21,7% 22,6% 25,9%

25,2% 16,3% 11,3% 19,6%

21,1% 17,6% 19,1% 25,9%

23,6% 16,9% 13,0% 14,3%

20,2% 13,7% 17,4% 12,5%

13,1% 15,0% 21,7% 16,1%

12,8% 10,2% 4,3% 17,0%

12,5% 11,9% 7,0% 8,0%

11,0% 6,5% 0,9% 17,0%

0,4% 3,2% 0,9% 0,9%

6,2% 3,9% 7,8% 4,5%

11,0% 8,0% 19,1% 6,3%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

48,4%

38,7%

35,2%

35,4%

25,5%

26,9%

33,0%

28,3%

21,2%

13,2%

17,6%

14,0%

0,8%

6,0%

9,1%

52,7%33,8%

29,5%22,7%20,5%20,3%19,4%17,1%15,2%

11,9%11,5%9,1%

1,6%5,3%10,0%

Adoption of management systems

Engagement of stakeholders

Creation of sustainable product innovation

Product environmental footprint

Definition of a code of ethics

Social impact assessment tools

Publication of an integrated and/or sustainability reporting

Organization environmental footprint verification

Development and launch of “shared value creation” initiatives

Implementation of iso 26000 guidelines

Adoption of human rights respect policies

Adoption of un sustainable development goals

B-corporation certification

Other

I don't know

TOTAL1.524

Leaders

n=142

63,4%

44,4%

40,1%

29,6%

34,5%

28,2%

35,2%

26,8%

28,9%

12,7%

23,2%

16,9%

2,1%

6,3%

2,8%

Product cluster Processes cluster People cluster42,5% 81,2% 25,2%

TOTAL1,524

28VIEWPOINT REPORT

29VIEWPOINT REPORT

Management systems used to be a binder with process maps and procedures. Today they are more elaborate systems intended not only to manage and mitigate risks but also drive improvement, directly supporting an organization in reaching its business goals – to develop more sustainable businesses. Over the years, we have seen management systems evolve from regulation to industry standards to business integration, with development often driven by a response to sector and societal changes.

At DNV GL - Business Assurance, we believe that management systems will play an increasingly important role in supporting and guiding how organizations will work to build sustainable business performance. Seemingly the survey corroborates this as a number of companies indicate that they will use management systems as a tool to integrate sustainability into their core business. But as the business context changes, increasingly influenced by global trends, so must management systems. For example, companies today must increase their understanding of the context of their

organization in order to understand their most relevant risks and incorporate this broader view in their management system. To do so efficiently and effectively requires a structured approach. ISO has incorporated stakeholder requirements in the 2015 revision of its main management system standards and other elements to better incorporate sustainability in its standards.

Realizing a management system’s true potential is often associated with integrating it fully into the business. Instead of seeing the management system as an isolated element to manage a particular issue, such as quality or safety, successful companies realize that it can help manage the business as a whole, going beyond compliance to leveraging the strengths of a management system by means of thorough implementation, good communication and continuous improvement.

Read the full DNV GL - Business Assurance whitepaper "Future of Management Systems" on dnvgl.com/future2025.

MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS DRIVING SUSTAINABLE BUSINESS PERFORMANCE

30VIEWPOINT REPORT

WHAT IS THE FUTURE OF MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS?

Beyond each organization’s ability to integrate and implement their management systems effectively, for management systems to continue to be a driving force for change, they must adapt to support companies undergoing rapid changes and help them tackle a broader set of challenges. At DNV GL - Business Assurance, we have tried to look ahead to 2020 to see what management systems require in order to continue to be relevant, to help companies manage risk and integrate sustainability into their core business.

What we found was that whether targeting challenges imposed by society’s looming megatrends or sector-specific trends, future management systems must be flexible enough

to integrate the materiality issues arising from stakeholder involvement and must also be able to establish performance, technology and knowledge-driven processes across the value chain. Management systems must be integral in that they assure that the outcome of organizations is linked not only to enhanced value, but also to quality of life, environmental and societal safeguarding. They must support transparent and reliable communications related to their products or services, both internally and externally. Maintaining the status quo is not an option for companies today, as their business environment grows ever more complex; changes are rapid – data and technology driven – and stakeholder demands are growing.

Read the full whitepaper on the (Future of Management Systems) on dnvgl.com/future2025

31VIEWPOINT REPORT

62,0%

9,4%

28,6%

Yes

No

Dk/Da

TOTAL1.524 Europe Asia North

America

CentralSouth

American=674 n=539 n=115 n=112

56,7% 65,5% 54,8% 80,4%

11,0% 6,3% 13,0% 7,1%

32,3% 28,2% 32,2% 12,5%

Large Companies

>1000 employees

n=364

60,4%

11,5%

28,1%

Leaders

n=142

73,9%

9,9%

12,0%

TOOLS TO ASESS SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATIONWhen asked whether they would appreciate a dedicated assessment tool aimed at identifying to what extent sustainability is integrated into their core business, the majority of respondents answer positively.

62% answer that they are interested in a tool for assessing sustainability integration. Rates indicate particular enthusiasm in Central and South America and above average interest in Asia, while the rates are below average in Europe and North America.

74% of LEADERS are interested in a dedicated assessment tool for sustainability integration.

WOULD YOU APPRECIATE A DEDICATED ASSESSMENT TOOL AIMED AT IDENTIFYING TO WHAT EXTENT SUSTAINABILITY IS INTEGRATED INTO YOUR CORE BUSINESS?

Figure17: Interest in an assessment tool for sustainability integration

TOTAL1,524

32VIEWPOINT REPORT

As we see from this survey and from our experience in the field, it is still early, but integrating sustainability into the core business is becoming increasingly crucial to companies worldwide. Crucial for their competitiveness in the market and crucial for establishing strong and long lasting relationships with key stakeholders, starting with customers/consumers.

The hypothesis for the survey was elaborated by DNV GL and EY in collaboration, through the definition of sustainability integration as ‘a concept whereby companies shape their strategy and operations to address drivers of change and answer expectations and needs arising not only from the market but from society as well, in order to increase competitiveness and ensure long lasting profitability’.

Integrating sustainability into the core business is far from a simple exercise. Companies seem to be pressed by other, often short-term, priorities. In addition, they tend to lack adequate internal competences needed to translate sustainability integration into strategy and operations. Also return on investments and lack of stakeholder interest may currently represent obstacles to sustainability integration.

Companies with a widespread sustainability culture, both inside and outside the organisation, seem better prepared. According to what we see in our everyday activity, companies experiencing stakeholder engagement initiatives are also beginning to step up the pace of sustainability integration, especially among SMEs.

Among the leaders, we see positive attitudes towards sustainability integration. Leaders have a clear opinion of what sustainability integration means and seem to know that if you want to

transform your business model, you must have some degree of visionary leadership that looks beyond the current state. However, the business case for sustainability integration is far from being universally recognized.

In the last few years, many standards, guidelines and tools have been developed to support companies in raising their awareness on sustainability issues and we believe that some of them have really favoured the process of integration of sustainability into the core business.

There is neither a single recipe, nor single tool to reach integration. It is often the result of combined actions and instruments. As a consequence, this grants management systems significant potential because they can act as a framework.

We believe the following steps can be identified as a point of departure for a ‘sustainability integration journey’:

■ Think ‘out of the box’: Clear up any precon-ception (not limited to bringing the integration of sustainability into pre-existing business definitions)

■ Balance (between analysis and synthesis): Identify the drivers of change in both society and the market through tools such as Big Data, Analytics and Stakeholder Engagement

■ Courage: Experiment with business solutions that will meet the needs of both society and the market

■ Scalability: check the scalability of the most effective solutions tried

■ Change Management: Get ready to embark on a path of change leading to a possible review of your ‘Purpose’ in order to embed what you have learned.

OUR FINAL THOUGHTS

33VIEWPOINT REPORT

■ LEADERS firmly believe in the importance of integrating sustainability into their core business and have a clear vision of what this means, highlighting the importance of two key elements: measuring the economic, environmental and social impacts of their activities and adopting management systems.

■ They devise ad-hoc integration strategies - for which they define measurable goals - and implement dedicated initiatives.

■ LEADERS do not limit their investments to environmental impact reduction initiatives, and instead adopt a well-rounded approach. They set “broader” sustainable strategies and work on actions that are more sophisticated, such as “shared value creation initiatives”.

■ They are a step ahead and comprehensively take advantage more than others do, especially when it comes to market related advantages.

■ They recognize the impact that sustainability will have on business in the mid-term future and are willing to maintain and even increase their investments.

PROFILING THE LEADERS

34VIEWPOINT REPORT

LEADERS’ APPROACH TO SUSTAINABILITY INTEGRATION

01. LEADERS have a clear idea of what integrating sustainability into the core business means to them.

02. Measuring the economic, environmental and social impacts of their business, together with the adoption of management systems, is crucial for LEADERS.

03. LEADERS set ad hoc sustainability integration policies and measurable goals.

04. LEADERS invest substantially in sustainability integration initiatives.

05. In addition to initiatives focusing merely on the reduction of environmental impacts, LEADERS set wider sustainable strategies and work on actions that are more sophisticated, such as “shared value creation initiatives” and others.

06. LEADERS benefit more than others do from sustainability integration initiatives

07. Barriers to progress are less relevant for LEADERS; they overcome obstacles better than others do.

08. LEADERS will maintain or increase their investments for integrating sustainability in their core business in the next three years.

09. Management systems as a tool for integrating sustainability in the core business will become even more important for LEADERS.

10. LEADERS are interested in tools to assess their progress in the process of integrating sustainability.

35VIEWPOINT REPORT

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VIEWPOINT REPORT AUTUMN 2016

The trademarks DNV GL and the Horizon Graphic are the property of DNV GL AS. All images by Thinkstock/iStockphoto unless specified. © DNV GL AS 2015. All rights reserved.

www.dnvglviewpoint.com

OCTOBER 2016


VIEWPOINT REPORTIntegrating Sustainability

BUSINESS ASSURANCE

AUTUMN 2016

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