Asia-Pacific Leading the World in Sustainability
HONG KONG, June 26 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- According to a survey by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), 64 per cent of executives surveyed in Asia Pacific agreed that the benefits of investing in sustainability outweighed the costs. The Asia Pacific Executive Summary released today reveals that 42 per cent of those polled said that the greatest benefit was that of improved shareholder value.
The EIU Asia Pacific Executive Summary sponsored by Jones Lang LaSalle is based upon a global survey conducted by EIU at the end of 2007 to assess the impact of sustainability on business today. It drew on a wide-ranging survey of 1,254 executives worldwide, including 337 based in the Asia Pacific region. A further 28 in-depth interviews were organised with senior executives and experts from businesses, non-governmental organisations, academia and elsewhere.
Speaking at the ROI of Sustainability EIU conference in Hong Kong today, the National Director of Energy and Sustainability Services at Jones Lang LaSalle, Mr Chris Wallbank sees these findings as supporting what Jones Lang LaSalle are hearing from its clients, "More and more companies are recognizing the strong business case for sustainability, but while there is a lot of talk, the challenge remains in the implementation."
The survey shows that 41 per cent of companies that rated their sustainability performance highly over the last three years saw their share prices rise over 31 per cent. Only 14 per cent of companies that rated their sustainability performance as poor saw the same share growth.
Despite some companies saying that there is still confusion about what sustainability means for an organization, Asia Pacific is making impressive progress. The survey shows that Asia Pacific is leading the global average in 16 areas of sustainable practice and policy, in particular:
-- 59 per cent of firms in Asia Pacific have taken steps to improve
governance of environmental and social performance compared to
51 per cent globally
-- 47 per cent have revised and tightened controls to support ethical
business dealings, compared to a global average of 40 per cent
-- 35 per cent have upgraded IT systems to improve reporting and
performance management on sustainability issues, compared to a global
average of just 27 per cent
According to the survey, one roadblock to implementation is that many companies lack a coherent strategy. Asia Pacific is doing better than other regions with 57 per cent of Asian respondents reporting that their companies have a strategy in place, compared with 51 per cent in America and 50 per cent in Western Europe. However, more executives in Asia Pacific -- 65 per cent -- than elsewhere think that voluntary business action, in conjunction with government regulation and market forces, is generally more effective than regulation alone in reducing companies' environmental and social impact.
Other key findings from the report include:
-- 53 per cent of respondents in Asia Pacific believe that companies that
cannot demonstrate sustainable practices will become increasingly
uncompetitive
-- More than half of respondents in Asia Pacific -- 51 per cent compared
to a global average of 46 per cent -- think that government and policy
makers are likely to influence their sustainability strategy over the
next five years
-- However, Western European companies are making greater progress in
reducing carbon emissions than firms in Asia Pacific; 25 per cent have
reduced carbon emissions compared to only 20 per cent in the
Asia-Pacific region
Wallbank notes that one of the key challenges for organizations in demonstrating real gains in this area is a lack of robust environmental performance data, "Having access to the right performance data enables organisations to understand their sustainability performance, to identify opportunities for measurable improvement, and to track and report on progress over time."
Jones Lang LaSalle's Energy and Sustainability Services division has been formed globally, bringing together existing environmental capabilities in areas such as strategy development, sustainable building development and energy efficient building operations alongside sophisticated benchmarking, measurement and reporting methodologies to drive sustainability outcomes for clients.
"Our corporate occupier, developer and investor clients are increasingly focused on the energy efficiency and sustainability in real estate. Since we manage over 100 million sq ft of property in the Asia Pacific region on behalf of owners and occupiers, Jones Lang LaSalle is in a strong position to make a real impact in this area," says Wallbank.
(The Asia Pacific executive summary of the 'Business and the Sustainability challenge' research can be found at
http://tinyurl.com/5uqt6s )
About Jones Lang LaSalle
Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL) is a professional services firm specializing in real estate. The firm offers integrated services delivered by expert teams worldwide to clients seeking increased value by owning, occupying or investing in real estate. With 2007 global revenue of USD2.7 billion, Jones Lang LaSalle has approximately 170 offices worldwide and operates in more than 700 cities in 60 countries. The firm is an industry leader in property and corporate facility management services, with a portfolio of approximately 1.2 billion square feet worldwide. LaSalle Investment Management, the company's investment management business, is one of the world's largest and most diverse in real estate with approximately USD50 billion of assets under management. For further information, please visit our website, http://www.joneslanglasalle.com .
Jones Lang LaSalle has over 50 years of experience in Asia Pacific, with over 16,000 employees operating in more than 70 offices in 13 countries across the region.
