Zero Impact Growth Monitor 2012Strategies of leading companies in 10 industries |
Less than 10 % of leading companies are ready to transform towards a ‘green economy’
Deloitte has researched in total 65 leading companies in sustainability in 10 industries towards their readiness for a ‘green and inclusive economy’. The Zero Impact Growth Monitor 2012 reveals that only 6 companies out of the total sample have reached a level on which they are ready to take radical steps to transform their industries, whereas the majority of the companies are still vague about their strategic growth ambition in a world where ‘growth as usual’ is not an option any more. Puma, Nike, Nestlé, Unilever, Natura and Ricoh come out as the winners in this assessment.
Major gaps that hinder companies in moving forward
The Zero Impact Growth Monitor 2012 also reveals a set of important gaps that decrease the ability of a company to move forward in their journey:
- Comparability gap
The research reveals a lack of consistent definitions and descriptions that companies use to explain their sustainability efforts in the various components examined. - Implementation gap
Some of the companies have proposed ambitious strategies that have scored high in the Zero Impact Growth Monitor. However, the degree of implementation of these overall strategies often do not receive similar scores when assessing the different components. - Balance gap
A third finding describes an overall tendency that environmental goal-setting is more consistent towards supporting overall strategies than social goal setting. The reason for these better environmental scores has to do with the advanced possibilities to monetize environmental strategy contributions to overall economic value added. - Gaps in and between industries
Although the research focused only on the so-called ‘leading companies’, there are still considerable differences in scores – even within the same industry. We have seen the biggest gaps in some of those industries that will see the highest EBITDA loss in case of the internalization of additional external costs. During our research we have also observed considerable differences in the scores of various industries, which in our view hinders potential innovation and collaboration in and between the industries.
Steps towards Zero Impact Growth
The report suggests a joint movement towards Zero Impact Growth as a minimum strategy for all industries to restore a balance with planetary limits and human well-being. The respective ‘Zeronautics’ would need to be developed. Zero Impact Growth doesn’t consider ‘Zero Growth’ to be the solution, but being a paradigm that can help to speed up the necessary transition towards a ‘green and inclusive economy’. At this moment most sustainability strategies focus on being ‘less bad’ instead of being ‘good’. This is mainly due to the lack of a joint vision, a situation in which Zero Impact Growth can be a minimum solution.
The report also covers the outcomes of the first-ever held Zeronauts Symposium in Rotterdam, a joint collaboration of Deloitte Innovation with John Elkington and his organization Volans. John Elkington’s book ‘The Zeronauts – Breaking the sustainability barrier’ has been a major inspiration for the development of the Zero Impact Growth Monitor.
Using the Zero Impact Growth Monitor
With the use of the Zero Impact Growth Monitor 2012 all companies of all sizes can be assessed regarding their readiness in a Zero Impact Growth World. The methodology can be used for desk research, deep dive programs, to assess industries, regions or various networks that contribute to the development of a green and inclusive economy. Please contact Anneke Sipkens or Ralph Thurm for a customized approach for your organization.
| Anneke Sipkens Director +31 (0)88 288 02 36 asipkens@deloitte.nl   |
Ralph Thurm Director +31 (0)88 288 52 84 rthurm@deloitte.nl |
