CORPORATE SUSTAINING SUSTAINABILITY

New Report Reveals Corporate America Moving Sustainability Initiatives Forward
September 17, 2009 (PR Newswire via Reuters)

"Corporations across the U.S. must amplify sustainability efforts and increase efficiencies, especially given President Obama's focus on making America the 21st century clean energy leader. A new report from Siemens and McGraw-Hill Construction, the 2009 Greening of Corporate America Report, shows that corporate America has in fact embraced standard sustainability practices, such as recycling, building green, focusing on employee engagement, and partnering with non-profits…Seventy-six percent (76%) of firms have made significant commitments to sustainability, and as a result, the firms of tomorrow must be innovative in their sustainability plans to stand out in the market and gain a competitive advantage…"

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"Commissioned by Siemens Building Technologies and conducted by McGraw-Hill
Construction Research & Analytics, the report follows a similar 2006 study and
provides comparative statistics, trend analysis, and thought-leader interviews with corporate sustainability officers at Microsoft, AT&T, and Owens Corning…[H]ighlights include…"

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"…[1] Three out of four firms view sustainability as consistent with their profit missions. They expect that green practices tied to core business strategies will reduce energy costs (75%), retain and attract customers (70%), and provide market differentiation by contributing to the financial performance of the company (61%)…[and, 2] The economic crisis has supported, rather than deterred, sustainability activity; 57% of those polled believe sustainability practices are either unaffected or aided by the down economy…"