Companies Going Green Survey: 50% of businesses addressing energy efficiency

Nearly half of leading private growth businesses are addressing improvements in energy efficiency and reducing waste throughout their organization. More than a third expect greater focus on sustainability going forward

Survey highlights:
* 47% of leading private companies are working to improve energy efficiency and reduce waste in their organizations.
* Most common efforts include introducing recycling programs, reducing energy usage, and exploring new energy-efficient technologies and equipment.
* Primary goals are to operate more efficiently, reduce costs, and ensure long-term corporate growth.

As the economy begins to show signs of recovery, 47 percent of CEOs interviewed for PricewaterhouseCoopers’ Private Company Trendsetter Barometer survey are focusing their attention on addressing improvements in energy efficiency and reducing waste throughout their organizations, with 36 percent expecting a greater focus on sustainability over the next 12 to 18 months. Among these, larger private firms ($100 million or more in revenues) are more active in this area than are their smaller counterparts: among large firms, 46% are implementing energy efficiency and waste reduction programs and 13% were developing them; among smaller firms, 31% implementing and 10% developing.

According to the survey, private companies are focused on recycling, energy audit and usage-reduction goals, and on exploring new energy-efficient technologies and innovative equipment for heating, cooling and lighting systems. Fifty-six percent of companies will be creating incentives for their employees to reduce usage of energy, paper and other materials, while relatively few companies are considering purchasing carbon credits.

Climate Change and Carbon Management
46 percent of Trendsetter CEOs consider green practices or response to climate change important to the success of their businesses over the next 3-5 years. Focusing in on climate change, however, only 27 percent believe climate change will have a definite impact on their company’s profits over the next 3-5 years, while 66 percent see little or no profit impact.

A minority (15 percent) have either measured the carbon footprint of their companies or plan to do so over the next 12-18 months (8 and 7 percent, respectively). Not surprisingly, larger private firms expect to be more proactive about their carbon footprint than smaller firms.

Focus on sustainability
Over the next 12 to 18 months, 36 percent of private company CEOs believe there will be a greater focus on sustainability within their businesses (36 percent), despite the fact that only 15 percent issue a sustainability report for their company presently (9 percent) or plan to issue one over the next 12 to 18 months (6 percent).

While a majority of CEOs (67 percent) reported the current economic climate has not impacted their companies’ level of planned investment to reduce its environmental impact, only 15 percent believe there has been some definite (6 percent) or probable impact (9 percent). Not surprisingly, the 36 percent of private businesses that expect greater company focus on sustainability in the near future are larger businesses, averaging $231 million in enterprise revenue.
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