Staff yawn at sustainability

Forget sex toys in the recycling bin – the Economist Intelligence Unit has released a report about people’s attitudes to sustainability at work.

Essentially it says companies need to try harder to translate their eco-strategies into meaningful action.

Some 37% of respondents still see the most prominent evidence of their company’s commitment to sustainability in mission statements, speeches, PR activities, and sales and marketing.

Only 22% believe that these public statements are matched by “significant” effort made by their organisations internally.

James Watson, report editor and cricket bowler of the year, said:

“UK businesses recognise that they are under more scrutiny than ever before to manage the social and environmental footprint of their commercial activities. However, what this survey reveals is that if companies really want to achieve their objectives, then getting buy-in from their workforce is crucial.”

Here are some findings from the report, sponsored by BT:

British companies see sustainability as primarily an environmental issue.

Sustainability has moved up the corporate hierarchy in many British firms.

Sustainability is not yet proving to be a powerful tool for recruitment.