Sustainability is key to Business Success, say Indian CEOs

According to a new report titled “UN Global Compact – Accenture CEO Study on Sustainability 2013: Insights from CEOs in the Global Compact Network India” published by Global Compact Network India (GCNI) and Accenture, it has been revealed that two-thirds of CEOs of Indian companies say that sustainability is very important to the future success of their business, but less than half (44 per cent) think business is making sufficient efforts to address global sustainability challenges.
 
The report is based on interviews and inputs from a range of CEOs of leading Indian corporations across sectors and draws comparison with the global CEO study on sustainability conducted by the UNGC and Accenture in 2013, the largest-ever conducted with more than global 1,000 CEOs. For the India report, the Accenture and UN team gathered the views of 32 high-profile Indian CEOs and Global Compact members across sectors.  
 
“Indian CEOs are dealing with a different situation from their global counterparts on sustainability issues,” said Peter Lacy, Managing Director, Accenture.
 
The report also revealed that, in response to the challenges businesses are facing in addressing sustainability issues, 97 per cent of the Indian CEO sample say that an increase in efforts by governments and policymakers to provide an enabling environment for the private sector will be integral to advancing sustainability.