20 Studies Demonstrate the Business Case for Sustainability

There is clear evidence that sustainability offers tangible business benefits including improving the bottom line. According to a review of 20 studies by Natural Capitalism, the business case for sustainability has been decisively demonstrated.

“Companies that are the leaders in sustainable, social and good governance policies have 25% higher stock value than their less sustainable competitors, there’s a business case for behaving in ways that are more responsible to the planet and to people.”

An ever-growing number of studies prove the assertion that sustainability pays. This trend is likely to intensify as climate change, natural resource constraints, rapid development in emerging economies, and a host of other factors drive unprecedented changes in business.

The profit motive combined with risk mitigation are powerful incentives driving business leaders to integrate sustainability into their strategy and value-chain while securing a competitive advantage.

“Leading companies increasingly will evaluate their performance using an integrated bottom line. This new measure places financial performance in the context of a firm’s environmental and social impacts to gauge its competitiveness
in the marketplace more holistically. It recognizes the interdependent relation between business, environment, and society and emphasizes that businesses gain by identifying shared opportunities to support all three.”

To see the Natural Capitalism report click here.