Executive Summary
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Approx. 70 % of all surveyed top executives consider sustainability efforts essential to long-term profitability.
- For firms' purchasing strategies, purchasing heads rank environmental efforts as most important among sustainability initiatives.
- Subsidiary CEOs in emerging economies consider social issues a priority. -
Firms with highest profitability show consistently higher efforts in social and environmental sustainability.
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Firms with high efforts in social and environmental sustainability show major competitive advantages, especially with regard to production efficiency, supplier management skills and attractiveness for employees.
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Amongst the industries covered in the study, Consumer Goods companies engage most strongly in sustainability activities whereas Mechanical Engineering firms are the least engaged.