Sustainability is Catching On
There is growing interest in sustainability - among individuals and organizations. Consumers are demonstrating their acceptance of sustainable products. They’re buying more energy-efficient lights bulbs, appliances and electronics that bear the ENERGY STAR label. They’re also buying more energy-efficient cars. Toyota hopes to sell 300,000 gasoline-electric hybrid vehicles in 2005. General Motors expects to have more than one million of its fuel cell vehicles on the road by 2010. And some 70 percent of American consumers said in an August 2003 survey they are more likely to buy a product if they know the manufacturer uses environmentally friendly practices.
Interest in sustainable practices is also on the rise among companies, government bodies, educational institutions and other organizations.
A survey of 1,000 CEOs from 43 countries by PricewaterhouseCoopers indicated that 79% of these CEOs believe that sustainability is vital to the profitability of any company.Net Impact - a network of business people interested in social and environmental business issues - has seen its membership more than quadruple since 1998, while the number of its chapters nearly doubled over the same period. Says Benjamin Klasky, executive director of Net Impact, "It’s not just the tree-huggers anymore; it’s more mainstream." Robert Ridge, Vice President - Health, Safety and Environment for ConocoPhillips noted in a February 2003 speech, "… sustainable development is just good business."
