Sustainability P. 2

In the final report of our 8-year study of how corporations address sustainability, MIT Sloan Management Review and The Boston Consulting Group examine the crossroads at which sustainability now finds itself. Despite sociopolitical upheaval that threatens to reverse key gains, our research has shown that companies can develop workable — and profitable — sustainability strategies to reduce their impact on the global environment by incorporating 8 key lessons.

Companies seeking to implement a sustainable business model should address six key problems.

By focusing on increasing operating efficiency, uniting their employees behind a common goal, and being more open to innovation, many companies today are finding that they are having a more positive impact on society while building a better business.

The power and responsibility of companies to help build a thriving, resilient world has never been greater.

Behind every piece of code that drives our decisions is a human making human judgments about what matters and what does not.

Investors see a strong link between corporate sustainability performance and financial performance—so they’re using sustainability-related data as a rationale for investment decisions like never before.

Today's supply chains are required to be lean, agile, sustainable, and — increasingly — transparent.

How can companies counter negative perceptions of CSR efforts and have a credible dialogue with stakeholders?

Responsible corporate behavior isn’t simply "doing well by doing good." Six structural changes need to be considered.

Sustainability reporting isn't about being eco-friendly — it's about managing business risks.