Excerpt from The Energy Collective (16 March 2013):

A variety of factors are coalescing to make 2013 a pivotal year in the growth of sustainability. Year after year, sustainability has gained ground as an increasing number of organizations are incorporating environmental and social concerns into their strategic planning.

The corporate community cannot ignore the overwhelming logic of the business case for sustainability. The benefits include reduced input costs, increased risk mitigation, lower healthcare costs, greater worker productivity, improved employee attraction and retention. Sustainability is more than a competitive advantage, it is a competitive necessity.

According to the ACCA, KPMG and Fauna & Flora International report (PDF), nearly half of all corporations identify natural capital (the stock of capital derived from natural resources such as biological diversity, ecosystems and the services they provide) as a material issue for their businesses.

Read the full story by Richard Matthews which cites a range of surveys and reports indicating that companies are investing more to reduce their impacts.

Author of the story, Richard Matthews, is a consultant, eco-entrepreneur, green investor and author of numerous articles on sustainable positioning, eco-economics and enviro-politics. He is the owner of The Green Market Oracle, a leading sustainable business site.

Source: www.theenergycollective.com

The full story has been reproduced on the ABC of Carbon website – an excellent source of many other similar sustainable business news stories.