Consumer companies have talked about sustainability for decades, but the need for immediate action has never been stronger. Scaling sustainability efforts is not something one company can do alone. To deliver a sustainable future, businesses must work with governments, non-governmental organisations, consumers, suppliers and industry peers.
Progress and profit: how consumer companies will scale sustainability through collaboration is an Economist Impact report, supported by EY, exploring the extent of collaboration among companies in the retail and consumer products industries on collective challenges they face in implementing sustainability measures. Our survey of 400 senior executives at consumer-products and retail companies from around the world showed that there is an appetite for working together: 85% of respondents said that they would focus on creating common sustainability strategies with their partners and peers. Action among industry partners and the supply chain, and in the communities where consumer companies work to create mutual value, is a critical imperative. Sustainability goals can only be achieved through collective action and collaboration. However, our study shows that there are challenges—both internal (for example target-setting) and external (such as macroeconomic shocks).
Join me and industry leaders in this webinar, in which we will discuss the study findings, uncover some of the challenges, and discuss ways to overcome them in order to harness the potential of collaboration to scale sustainability initiatives.
I will be joined by 4 esteemed panellists:
• Ann Tracy, chief sustainability officer at Colgate-Palmolive
• David Croft, global head of sustainability at Reckitt
• Jim Doucette, Global Consumer sector Sustainability leader at EY-Parthenon
• Ignacio Gavilan, director, Sustainability at The Consumer Goods Forum
Register for the webinar here
For the full report see here
An infographic summarising the key findings can be found here