A growing number of companies are using sustainability goals as a means of signaling their commitment to become sustainability leaders, and to compete for superior positioning versus their rivals. In numerous interviews with sustainability executives, however, we have observed that companies' practices for selecting and managing sustainability goals vary widely. We have seen goals crafted on a foundation of meticulous analysis but we’ve also learned about goals made up on the way to a television appearance. We’ve seen highly professional practices established for managing and rewarding sustainability performance and we’ve also seen companies with goals but no tools in place to achieve them.

This study identifies the trends and best practices for defining, managing and communicating sustainability goals, an important new competitive arena for companies.

Key Questions

What is the right way for companies to establish sustainability goals?
How should companies manage sustainability performance to ensure they achieve their goals?
When and how should sustainability goals be communicated to the public, and what is the place of internal sustainability goals?

Key Findings

Companies should craft sustainability goals in consultation with internal and external experts and stakeholders, combining bottom-up and top-down analysis to produce goals that are material, achievable, quantitative and time-bound. A quarter of sustainability executives at leading companies have “aspirational” sustainability goals without a clear plan to achieve them.
CEO support, operating executive accountability and regular progress reporting are the best practices of managing sustainability goals. Fifty percent of sustainability leaders tie part of C-level executive compensation to the achievement of sustainability goals. But over forty percent say progress on sustainability goals is reported to senior management only semi-annually or annually.
Public sustainability goals demonstrate commitment and help galvanize internal staff and drive results. Seventy-nine percent of sustainability leaders have public greenhouse gas emissions goals while 45 percent have public waste and water goals. Companies with immature management or measurement practices should start with internal goals but aim to go public in short order.
 

Who Needs this Report

Sustainability executives
Senior executives and strategists
Sustainability consultants
Environmental and strategy consultants
Vendors of, ERP, EHS, carbon accounting and sustainability management systems
Industry associations
Non-governmental environmental organizations
Universities and sustainability research centers
Sustainability public relations and marketing agencies

Main Topics/Report Features

Pages: 18; Figures: 14
Sustainability goals
Sustainability tracking and reporting
Sustainability management
Survey of 32 sustainability executives at leading global companies

Table of Contents

Executive Summary
Key Questions
Key Findings
Setting and Managing Sustainability Goals
Environmental Goals are a New Competitive Arena
Environmental Goals Have Key Differences from Other Corporate Goals
Many Factors Influence the Selection of Sustainability Goals
Goals, Targets and Timelines
Consult Widely and Create a Coherent Framework for Goal Setting
Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions is the Most Popular Goal
“Stretch” Goals Most Common
Set Targets by Combining Bottom-up and Top-down Analysis
Set Targets Three to Five Years Out
Experts Should Set Goals; Operating Execs Should Own Them
Senior Management Should Review Progress Quarterly
Ensure that Specific Individuals Are Accountable for Sustainability Results
Tie Compensation to Achievement of Sustainability Goals
Communicate Clearly, Simply and Consistently about Sustainability Goals
Go Public with Goals, or Have a Good Reason Not To
Companies Mentioned in this Report
Report Methodology
Green Research Sustainability Executive Survey

Table of Figures

Factors that Influence Sustainability Goals
Anatomy of a Sustainability Goal
Kraft Foods' Sustainability Wheel
The Most Common Sustainability Goals
How Aggressive Companies' Goals Are
Bottom-up and Top-down Analysis
Frequency with which Goals Are Reviewed and Revised
Plans, Goals and Visions
Levels of Management that Approve Goals
Progress Reporting Frequency
Executives with Compensation Tied to Environmental Performance
Fujitsu Environmental Programs
Respondent Company Industry
Respondent Company Size

Companies Interviewed or Mentioned

Alcatel-Lucent
Apple
Barclays
CA Technology
Conagra
Cummins
Dell
Edelman
Fujitsu Group
GEMI
InterfaceFLOR
Johnson Controls
Kimberly-Clark
Kraft Foods
Marks and Spencer
Nokia
Shaw Industries
SustainAbility
Telefónica
Unilever
UPS