£100bn gain if sustainability put at heart of British business

UK business could secure £100bn in annual productivity gains generated by innovations designed to address environmental and social challenges, according to a new report by Accenture, Business in the Community and Marks & Spencer.

The report, Fortune Favours the Brave, argues that companies must go beyond conventional corporate and social responsibility programmes and, instead, place sustainability at the heart of business strategies and operations to unlock the full commercial potential and sustainability benefits.

Based on primary and secondary research by Accenture and in depth discussions with ceos of some of the UK’s leading companies such as Kingfisher, BT Group and Jaguar Land Rover, the report suggests that scaling innovation in five categories – resource efficiency, the circular economy, new consumption models, shared value approaches and transparency and customer engagement – can improve competitiveness, grow revenues and better address changing customer needs.

To accompany the report (which you can see in full here), BITC is to publish a new Sustainable Business Toolkit that provides practical guidance on how companies can create and test new innovative ideas that deliver commercial, environmental and social benefit. 

Image credit: Charles Postiaux/Unsplash