UK firms talk but don't walk green - survey

UK companies are failing to match fine words with green action, as less than one-third of respondents claim to be adopting ‘green’ policies in their organisations.

This survey’s key findings state:

*When asked how strong the move to adopt ‘green’ policies is within their organisation, 33% of respondents said weak or very weak, with only 31% believing it to be strong or very strong;

*45% of respondents believe the chief executive (CEO) drives green initiatives within their business.  “

*       More encouragingly however, 20% have in place a dedicated head of sustainability or ‘green Czar’, with a further 20% confirming that unctional heads such as the chief technical officer (CTO), chief operating officer (COO) or their equivalents have responsibility for spearheading environmental change throughout the organisation;

*       The most important drivers for change remain cost efficiency (cited by 24% of respondents) and regulatory compliance (by 23%);

*       However, almost as important today is the growing pressure from customers, recognised as the principal pressure to go green by 19% of those surveyed.  Shareholder pressure, by contrast, is seen as most important by only 7%;

*       Despite the financial imperatives for environmental change, only 37% of businesses in total believe that costs will reduce as a result of the adoption of ‘green’ policies, with 25% still holding to the view that costs will increase.

The survey was done by Vanson Bourne and paid for by communications-services provider, Genesys Conferencing.