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Turning sustainability goals into action

After setting sustainability goals, businesses must now put their plans into action. How do they plan to transition to sustainable practices? To find out, Publicis Sapient and Ipsos asked 254 VPs and C-suite executives about their views on sustainability and the feasibility of their goals at medium and large companies in the United States. We partnered with Microsoft to report on the findings.

Sustainability priorities driving long-term business value

The top sustainability goals companies are aiming to achieve are:

  • 83% decreasing carbon emissions from the business
  • 68% increasing the share of renewable energy sources used
  • 71% decreasing waste from production as well as more recycled material
  • 21% or just 1 in 5 aim to participate in carbon project financing

Our report shows that executives feel inspired to achieve their sustainability goals. More than 75 percent of respondents cited a sense of social responsibility as a motivator to meet their goals, believing it is the right thing to do. Their top goals included reducing carbon emissions (83 percent of respondents) and waste (71 percent), using more renewables (68 percent) and participating in carbon project financing (21 percent).

The report also suggests that executives recognize the business value of sustainability. Though our respondents represent a variety of industries—agriculture, airlines, energy, manufacturing, midstream, oil and gas, and utilities—they unite on an important point: 96 percent agree that prioritizing sustainability is a good long-term business strategy. For example, nine in 10 respondents from the energy industry acknowledge that maintaining brand reputation is a priority. Sustainability offers a way for companies to meet customers’ needs and maintain brand credibility.

Our sustainability report gives you all you’ll need to know about executives implementing sustainable practices while navigating challenges. Sustainable transformation may come with some uncertainty—but it also empowers organizations to build a better future.

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