the 2013 sustainability leaders

Sustainability Leaders

The 2013

A GlobeScan/SustainAbility Survey


The 2013


Contents

2

3

4

5

6

7

12

--

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About the Globescan / SustainAbility Surveys

Introduction

Survey Methodology

Key Findings

Institutional Leaders on Sustainability

Corporate Leaders on Sustainability

Spotlight on Corporate Leaders in Emerging Markets

Spotlight on Rising Corporate Leaders


The 2013


About the GlobeScan / SustainAbility Surveys

3

The GlobeScan / SustainAbility Surveys offer a unique, collaborative platform that uses research-driven insights, including targeted surveys of the most influential thought leaders in the sustainability arena from over sixty countries, to explore the biggest sustainability challenges.

The thousands of stakeholders surveyed include leading sustainable development experts and practitioners from five sectors:

• Corporate• Government (including multi-lateral institutions)• NGOs• Institutional (e.g., academics)• Service (e.g., consultants, media)

The GlobeScan / SustainAbility Surveys are in field around six times each year, and provide a regularly updated expert perspective on a range of timely topics.

You can download all the latest surveys from the GlobeScan or SustainAbility websites.

http://www.globescan.com/

http://www.sustainability.com/projects/the-globescan-sustainability-surveys


The 2013


Introduction

4

Another year has passed and the results of the latest GlobeScan/SustainAbility opinion survey on leadership look startlingly similar: Unilever on top. That’s not the whole story of course - Patagonia continues its impressive rise in the eyes of our sustainability experts, Puma has entered the “top ten” for the first time ever, and our global expert pool proves that leadership is often best recognized when it’s familiar, with respondents most likely to cite leaders headquartered in the regions they are based in. Even Unilever as #1 rises above the status quo, bucking the trend of leadership companies “coming back to Earth” as time passes between the launch of ambitious commitments or initiatives. In fact, Unilever has only continued to rocket past its peers since it first launched the Sustainable Living Plan in 2010.

“If we achieve our sustainability targets and no one else follows, we will have failed.” Paul Polman - CEO, Unilever

And therein lies the rub of “leadership as usual,” broadly exemplified in “The 2013 Sustainability Leaders” survey: it’s not nearly enough. Only national governments - whose paltry leadership on sustainability was recognized by all stakeholder respondents, including experts in government - rank lower than corporate leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda. This is an all too familiar theme in the global workshops and research GlobeScan and SustainAbility have conducted for The Regeneration Roadmap.

So in celebrating Unilever and other business leaders’ ambition, achievement and engagement (alongside its fellow changemakers in social enterprise, science and the NGO space), let’s remember the quote (above) from Unilever CEO Paul Polman: leaders are only as successful as those who are inspired to follow in their path.

http://theregenerationroadmap.com

http://theregenerationroadmap.com


The 2013


Survey methodology

5

• 1,170 qualified sustainability experts completed the online questionnaire from February 20 to March 14, 2013.

• Respondents were drawn from: corporate, government, non-governmental, academic/research, service/media, and other organizations.

• Experts surveyed span 73 countries in Asia, Africa / Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America / Caribbean, Australia / New Zealand, and comprise a highly-experienced respondent pool:

• 53 percent have more than ten years of experience working on sustainability issues.• 30 percent have five to ten years of experience.• 16 percent have three to four years of experience.• Respondents with less than three years of sustainability experience have been excluded from the results.

Demographics Government NGOAcademic / Research Corporate

Service / Media Other Total

Asia

Africa / Middle East

Europe

North America

Oceania

Latin America / Caribbean

DK/NA

Total

8

3

10

29

2

5

2

59

9

8

31

61

4

8

0

123

26

12

64

115

13

16

4

250

36

17

99

217

12

19

2

402

21

11

84

110

12

19

3

260

2

3

21

39

4

5

0

74

102

56

310

571

47

73

9

Note to ReadersAll figures in the charts and tables in this report are expressed in percentages, unless otherwise noted. Total percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding.


The 2013


Key findings

6

• National governments are seen as demonstrating the poorest leadership on sustainability over the last year.

• While social entrepreneurs have rebounded in 2013 and are now perceived as the sector advancing the sustainability agenda most, opinion of NGOs remains low compared to where it ranked two years ago.

• Experts find only national governments’ performance in advancing sustainability poorer than corporate leaders.

• There is broad consistency in leadership opinions across the world; Social entrepreneurs are perceived as the leading actors advancing sustainability in all regions but Africa / Middle East.

• Unilever captures the top spot for third year in a row, while Patagonia catapults to #2 position on back of strong gains in last year; Puma has entered the top ten after not appearing on the list in 2011.

• Unilever has not only been able to sustain its leadership position since the launch of the Sustainable Living Plan in 2010, but increase it considerably. This is even more impressive when compared to other leadership companies who have “come down to Earth” after an initial bump from the launch of ambitious commitments or initiatives.

• Experts in developing countries are most likely to cite leadership companies from the regions in which they are based (for example, Natura in the Latin American/Caribbean region). This largely holds for experts in Europe and North America as well. In fact, when asked to name leadership companies headquartered in developing countries, Natura and Tata are the only companies that garner more than 1% of mentions in Europe and North America.

• A commitment to sustainable values remains the primary reason a company is cited as a sustainability leader, while transparency and communication, integration into core business model and environmental, waste, and water management have risen in importance in 2013.


The 2013


Institutional Leaders on Sustainability


The 2013


20

National governments are seen as demonstrating the poorest leadership on sustainability over the last year.

8

QuestionPlease rate the overall performance of each of the following types of leaders in advancing the sustainability agenda over the past year?

Social Entrepreneurs

Leaders in the Scientific Community

NGO Leaders

Leaders of Multilateral Organisations

Corporate Leaders

13 44 28 3

5 (Excellent) 4 1 (Poor) DK / NA

Nationally Elected Government Leaders

3 2

10 1

8 36 37 15 2 2

6 36 42 12 2 2

20 42 23 5

40 30 7 1

16 42

2

2

9

38 13


The 2013


While social entrepreneurs’ leadership has rebounded in 2013, opinions of NGO leadership remain lower than in years past; Government leadership has declined every year since 2010.

9

“Excellent” (4+5)

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

2010 2012 20132011


Leaders in the Scientific Community

NGO Leaders


Corporate Leaders

Nationally Elected Government Leaders



The 2013


There is broad consistency in leadership opinions across the world; Social entrepreneurs are perceived as the leading actors advancing sustainability in all regions but Africa / Middle East.

13

10

35Leaders in Scientific Community

29

33



NGO Leaders

32Corporate Leaders

Performance on Sustainability Leadership by Different Types of Leaders

59


Government Leaders

55

23

52

32

45

40

20

35

20

54

47

20

46

20

62

47

43

47

47

30

49

22

51

3 3 3 34

9

Total “Excellent” by Region, 2013

AsiaAfrica / Middle East

Europe North America OceaniaLatin America / Caribbean

9


The 2013


Government leadership is consistently rated lowest across all stakeholder audiences, including by experts in government.

11

41Leaders in Scientific Community

20

32



NGO Leaders

19Corporate Leaders

Performance on Sustainability Leadership by Different Types of Leaders

31


Government Leaders

46

22

50

20

57

48

26

47

17

57

40

19

37

24

58

47

43

23

61

64

38

20

16

46

5 3 3 75

21

Total “Excellent” by Stakeholder, 2013

Government NGOAcademic / Research

CorporateMedia / Service

Other

2


The 2013


Corporate Leaders on Sustainability


The 2013


Unilever captures the top spot for third year in a row; Patagonia catapults to the #2 position on the back of strong gains in the last year.

13

QuestionWhat specific companies do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy?

% of Total Mentions, All Respondents, 2013

Unilever

Patagonia

Interface

Walmart

GE

14

11

8

25

Marks & Spencer

Puma

Nike

5

4

Coca Cola

Natura

IBM

3

Google

Nestlé

Novo Nordisk

5

4

4

3

3

3

3Arrows denote movement since 2012 (+/- 3% is threshold)

+8

+7

+3

+3


The 2013


Unilever and Patagonia show significant gains in 2013; Puma has entered the top ten after not appearing on the list in 2011.

14

Unilever

Patagonia

Interface

Walmart

GE

Coca Cola

15

2517

147

12

1110

11

8

127

41

2013 2012 2011

5

7



Puma4

1

2

5


The 2013


Unilever is rated strongest by corporate peers, NGOs and service/media; Patagonia is the highest-rated company among academics/researchers and tied with Walmart among government experts.

15


% Total Mentions, Unprompted, 2013

Leaders by Stakeholder Type

Government NGOAcademic / Research Corporate Service / Media

Unilever

Patagonia

Interface

Walmart

GE

Marks & Spencer

8

12

7

12

2

7

26

10

11

6

3

8

16

20

12

6

6

2

29

12

11

10

5

5

30

14

10

7

6

6


The 2013


Unilever’s leadership status is consistent across geographies, with particular resonance in Europe and Asia. Interface also enjoys great geographical breadth and is cited as a leader in every geography except Africa/Middle East. Interestingly, GE is mentioned as “top 3” leader in Asia and Oceania, but is not regarded among top leaders in North America.

16

Unilever

Sustainability Leaders by Region


26

% Total Mentions, Unprompted, 2013

Asia

8

7

6

6

ITC

GE

Novo Noridsk

Nestlé

Woolworths 20

Africa / Middle East

18

13

9

7

Unilever

Nedbank

Salsol

Anglo American

Unilever 32

Europe

12

10

6

Marks & Spencer

Patagonia

Patagonia 23

North America

22

17

12

6

Unilever

Interface

Walmart

Nike

Unilever 15

Oceania

13

9

6

Westpac

GE

Natura 42

Latin America / Caribbean

29

10

7

5

Unilever

Nestlé

WalmartSiemens

Interface 6 Interface

Novo Noridsk

Interface

5


The 2013


Spotlight on Corporate Leaders in Emerging Markets


The 2013


Experts in developing countries are most likely to cite leadership companies from the regions in which they are based (for example, Natura in the Latin American/Caribbean region); Natura and Tata are the only companies that garner more than 1% of mentions from experts in Europe and North America.

18

11

Anglo-American

Companies in the Developing World who are Leaders at Integrating Sustainability into Strategy

QuestionWhat specific companies that are headquartered in emerging economies (e.g., in Africa, Asia, and Latin America) do you think are leaders in integrating sustainability into their business strategy?

Unprompted, by Region, 2013

AsiaAfrica / Middle East

Europe North America OceaniaLatin America / Carribean

Cemex

ITC

Natura

Nedbank

Petrobras

SAB Miller

Sasol

Tata

Unilever

Vale

Woolworths

Other

DK /NA

12

2

1

28

41

5

2

21

14

22

4

9

2

5

9

4

2

1

66

12

1

1

1

1

11

1

70

8

12

1

1

1

5

80

17

2

18

53

1

1

1

5

5


The 2013


Spotlight on Rising Corporate Leaders


The 2013


The combination of relative ambition, effective communications and follow-through is vital to capturing and holding the imagination of sustainability experts, as Unilever proves; even where follow-through is robust, experts still exhibit “what have you done for me lately?” thinking.

20

Unprompted, Combined Mentions, Trends 2007 - 2013


Companies with the Greatest Commitment to Sustainability

0

10

20

30

20072009

20112010

20122013

2008

Unilever25

14November 2010

Unilever Launches “Sustainable Living Plan”

May 2009 GE Launches

“Healthy Imagination”

November 2011 Patagonia

Launches “Don’t Buy This Jacket”

Campaign

0

10

20

30

20072009

20112010

20122013

2008

Walmart

0

10

20

30

20072009

20112010

20122013

2008

GE

0

10

20

30

20072009

20112010

20122013

2008

Patagonia

5

8

July 2009 Walmart announces

its sustainable product index


The 2013


CEO leadership on confronting shareholder short-termism

Unilever has evolved from targeted, issue-based efforts to broad-based ambition and rhetorical leadership that confronts systemic challenges.

21 2010 2011 2012


Respondent Feedback, Unilever, 2010 - 2013

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2007 2008

Reason a Company Is Considered a Sustainability Leader

2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

2013

Setting ambitious goals through the Sustainable Living Plan

Developing more sustainable food

Paul Polman their CEO

25

Launches Sustainable Living Plan

Ambitious plans and goals that will force the company to stretch

They totally understand sustainable business

Focus on evidence-based metrics for impact

CEO Paul Polman is a visionary


The 2013


Commitment and transparency are consistent hallmarks of Patagonia’s leadership, but a significant rise occurred after “Don’t Buy This Jacket” provocation and campaign.

22 2010 2011 2012


Respondent Feedback, Patagonia, 2010 - 2013

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

2007 2008


2009 2010 2011 2012 2013

2013

They drill down further and communicate in a highly creative & professional manner

It is a cause-driven business model: first planet & people, then profit

Openly discuss success and challenges

The company has been leading sustainability & CSR initiatives for many years, before sustainability become “trendy”.

Honest and transparent about their footprint to all stakeholders

14

Launches Footprint

Chronicles

Highly open, been walking the walk for a long time

Launches “Don’t Buy This

Jacket” Campaign

Re-launches Footprint

Chronicles Website

Honest and transparent about their footprint to all stakeholders.

Transparency on initiatives and challenges

“Don’t Buy This Jacket” campaign


The 2013


Puma’s rise in the eyes of experts can solely be attributed to releasing its Environmental Profit & Loss (E P&L) statement.

23 2010 2011 2012


Respondent Feedback, Puma, 2010 - 2013

0

5

10

15

2010


2011 2012 2013

2013

Footprint measurement to include ecosystem services

Externalities in P&L accounts

Releases Environmental Profit & Loss

(E P&L) Statement

Recent release of Environmental P&L

Lifecycle analysis

Environmental Profit and Loss

4


The 2013


A commitment to sustainable values remains the primary reason a company is cited as a sustainability leader.

QuestionWhy do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in integrating sustainability into their business strategy?


Commitment to Sustainability Values

Transparency / Communication

Part of Core Business Model

Environment / Waste / Water

Executive Leadership has Strong SD Values

14

13

26

Supply Chain

Sustainable Products / Services

Renewable Energy / Lowering Emissions

5

Industry Leader


Innovation / Research & Development

24

11

5

9

9

9

6


The 2013


Transparency/communication, integration into core business model

and environmental/waste/water management are more important

factors in 2013 for determining corporate sustainability leadership.

25

2631

1412

1310

11

112013

2012

6

% of Total Mentions, All Respondents, 2012 - 2013

9

97

96

8

8


Commitment to Sustainability Values

Transparency / Communication

Part of Core Business Model

Environment / Waste / Water

Executive Leadership has Strong SD Values

Supply Chain

Sustainable Products / Services

Renewable Energy / Lowering Emissions

Innovation / Research & Development5

6

QuestionWhy do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in integrating sustainability into their business strategy?


The 2013


Experts identified a number of reasons why they consider other top companies sustainability leaders, reflecting the three points of the “leadership triangle”.

26

QuestionWhy do you think [INSERT COMPANY #1 FROM ABOVE] is a leader in integrating sustainability into their business strategy? Please enter up to two responses in the spaces provided.

Vision / Strategy

Engagement /Communication

Integration / Performance

Goals consistent with business opportunities and consumer base

Nike

They put their money where their mouth is & invest in big projects instead of just making incremental improvements to be “less bad“

Google

One of the few companies to identify closed loop systems as appropriate

GlaxoSmithKline

Responsible food supply chain work and use of science

Marks & Spencer

Aligning compensation with meeting sustainability goalsNovo Nordisk

Their own staff helps spread the word - not just corporate PR

Interface

Stopped being [so] secretive

Coca Cola


The 2013


For more information, contact:

Chris CoulterPresident, GlobeScan [email protected]

GlobeScan IncorporatedToronto: +1 416 962 0707London: +44 20 7253 1450San Francisco: +1 415 874 3154

www.globescan.com

Chris GuentherResearch Director, [email protected]

SustainAbility, Ltd.Washington: +1 202 315 4150New York: +1 718 210 3630London: +44 20 7269 6900

www.sustainability.com

27

Mohammed Al-ShawafManager, [email protected]

mailto:chris.coulter%40globescan.com?subject=The%202013%20Sustainability%20Leaders%20Survey%20Enquiry

http://www.globescan.com/

mailto:guenther%40sustainability.com?subject=GS/SA%20Leaders%20Survey%20Enquiry

http://www.sustainability.com

mailto:al-shawaf%40sustainability.com?subject=GS/SA%20Leaders%20Survey%20Enquiry

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