Sustainability progress is stalled at most companies

illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece in Sloan Review MIT or enjoy below 

🗞️ Driving the news: The Center for Sustainable Business at the University of Pittsburgh and The Harris Poll recently surveyed U.S. workers to assess the incorporation of sustainability in their companies' operations
• The results revealed that a third of participants report their employers have made substantial progress on their paths to sustainability

🔭 The context: Previously, corporations have been criticized for not embedding sustainability into their corporate DNA and relegating it to a department or a single individual
• However, companies that have seen success in this transformation have deeply embedded sustainability into their corporate culture

🌎 Why it matters for the planet: The research finds that adopting sustainability in corporate policies and everyday decisions aids in global environmental conservation
• Despite this, according to survey findings, progress is slow, with a mere 24% of respondents wholly agreeing that they consistently apply a sustainability perspective to their business decisions

⏭️ What's next: The survey's findings indicate that companies must invest in training and sustainability knowledge creation, provide employees with sustainability advancement incentives, and work to create a sustainability-friendly culture within their organizations

💬 One quote: "Unless CEOs and top management teams realize that profit is the consequence of value creation for all stakeholders and not the starting point for strategy development and execution, progress will be stifled." (Paul Polman, former CEO of Unilever and a leader in the corporate sustainability movement)

📈 One stat: Only 27% of respondents strongly agreed that they "invested ideas and creativity" to help their company be more sustainable

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