Germany Ahead of the CSR Curve When it Comes to Green Growth

UK business leaders believe Germany is the  winner when it comes to taking advantage of the global green market.

A survey by the Government-funded Carbon Trust, found that three times as many business leaders thought Germany was better prepared in this area. 34% named Germany as best placed to take advantage of the opportunities presented by the green economy. In comparison only 1 in 8 business leaders thought the UK was best prepared in this important CSR area.

Of all the 700 people questioned, 92% agreed that green growth presents an opportunity for their own business. The CSR impact of this is key - with 77% stating that the main benefit of going green is to enhance their corporate reputation.

However, despite the fact that seven out of ten UK business leaders expect the green economy to account for a larger percentage of exports in five years' time, oddly, only a third said that having a 'sustainable' business plan can increase profits.

What is more, two in five think that green growth will outperform conventional growth across the whole economy and three quarters of business leaders expect a bigger percentage of jobs to be in the green economy in five years' time. Those two things are obviously linked, and business has a CSR challenge to ensure its staff are properly trained and prepared.

Overall, this survey demonstrates a mismatch between what business leaders claim to think and what they are actually doing. Of course, one survey is only part of a much larger picture, but given the reach across the business world, it is likely to be a fairly accurate one.

The most worrying demonstration of this comes in relation to questioning around new technologies and research. Business leaders believed that, alongside legislation, 'advances in new technology' was the number one driver of the green economy. 77% of those surveyed named these two elements.

Despite this belief, only a third said that their company is already investing in research and development and developing green products and services. As a result of this finding, The Carbon Trust drew the conclusion that most business leaders do not see the green economy as likely to lead to increased profits. In fact, only a third (31%) agreed with this statement.
Unsurprisingly, given that this was a survey of business leaders, 74% thought that 'Visionary leadership' was the essential ingredient in seizing the opportunities presented by a green economy. However, the fact that business leaders also feel that Germany is streets ahead of the UK does not reflect that well in their views of their own leadership. From a CSR perspective this is a little worrying as our workforce needs their leadership for us to gain in the green economy.

However, according to Carbon Trust research, it's not just UK business leaders that are lacking in self-belief in this area. When leaders in the USA, China and Japan, were asked who was best prepared, they put themselves at 11%,11% and 9% respectively. In that context, the UK's 13% score isn't looking quite so bad.

Photo credit: Policy Network