10 Oct Report: UK businesses sustainablity investment forecast to grow 13% a year
UK business sustainability investment is expected to increase by 13% year on year between 2025 and 2030, based on recent research. The study by Cognizant Research and Oxford Economics believes the increase in sustainability budgets at UK businesses is forecast to rise from an annual rate of 8% between 2018 and 2020 to 12% from 2022 to 2025 and 13% between 2025 and 2030. The study predicts that the growth since 2018 will lead to a 260% increase in spending by UK businesses on sustainability by 2030.
Rohit Gupta, the national head for Cognizant, highlights that businesses must create a way of producing goods and services that meet the economic and environmental requirements. UK businesses have made a positive start, but looking to the future, it will be companies that establish partnerships to deploy innovative and maturing technologies that will be in a stronger position to achieve their sustainability targets. The survey results were applied to create a series of recommendations for how UK companies can exceed others with unprecedented growth by integrating sustainability into their work processes.
According to the study, over 80% of UK companies use digital tools to make operations more energy efficient. However, the report argues that there is still significant work to be done to enhance the sustainability of internal operations. By 2025, the core sustainability plans will need increased data sharing and more intelligent analysis. The study forecasts that over 40% will begin employing digital support, while 35% will apply data analytics to determine which areas require additional resources, reduce waste and minimise environmental impact.
Businesses should apply their internal operations work as a platform to enhance and widen the potential of sustainability plans externally. Businesses can achieve more by applying digital solutions to expand their potential reach and increase their influence across the entire value chain.
Over half of survey respondents are committed to sustainability strategies and introducing products and services that intend to grow and tackle environmental challenges. UK businesses are implementing cloud, IoT and data analytics to support sustainability transformation and are experimenting with other less-known technologies that have the potential to be more impactful. Over 40% of UK businesses in the study have introduced innovative automation, but approximately 90% of those have believed it’s been very effective. The report suggested an imbalance in the responsibility and accountability for the overall success of sustainability plans.
Typically, the CEO allocates sustainability budgets and approves the associated strategies, very few (7%) are accountable or have their performance measured against the outcome, with the overall responsibility lying with the chief sustainability officer and senior managers. The report suggests that strengthening the mutual understanding between senior executives and ownership of the sustainability agenda will create positive returns for an organisation.
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