A recent survey from EY, the 2022 Sustainable Value Study, a survey of over 500 chief sustainability officers and equivalents representing companies worth more than US$1b around the world, has concluded that taking decisive action to combat climate concerns can benefit companies financially.
The study shows that companies are seeing financial benefits that exceed their expectations. Indeed, the results show that those companies taking the most ambitious climate action are also seeing the greatest financial benefits, being 2.4 times more likely to see a significantly higher financial return than they expected.
Those companies taking the boldest steps are also seeing unexpectedly positive benefits in areas like staff retention, recruitment, brand perception and customer purchasing behaviour.
This evidence counters concerns that climate action may harm financial performance. The research shows that these concerns are among the greatest barriers to companies taking further climate action, with 36% concerned it will both negatively impact financial performance and reduce their ability to compete in the market in the short term.
These results should give more confidence to companies who have not yet announced ambitious climate plans that there are financial upsides in doing so. This presents a win-win for business and global sustainability, which is increasingly vital as the action companies are currently taking will not go far or fast enough to meet the planet’s needs when compared to the Paris Agreement targets ...