CEO Survey on Sustainability Reveals Focus on Corporate Real Estate
2-1-2008
The survey, conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU), was co-sponsored by global real estate services firm Jones Lang LaSalle and seven other leading companies from different industries: A.T. Kearney, Bank of America, ExxonMobil, Orange, PricewaterhouseCoopers, SAP, and SunGard.
The overall report, issued by the EIU on February 12, 2008, sheds light on the growing importance of corporate sustainability in enabling companies to compete and to attract customers. While the survey did not focus specifically on real estate topics, 46 percent of respondents selected one of three real estate strategies as the number-one sustainability priority from a list of 10 possible priorities.
"CEOs and other corporate officers are very focused on improving sustainability, but they may not realize the major impact their real estate departments can make in achieving their goals," said Dan Probst, Chairman, global environmental sustainability board at Jones Lang LaSalle. "As this study shows, the path to sustainability often starts with real estate and facility strategies."
The "leading priority" selected by the most CEOs is also addressed through real estate operations, albeit less obviously. Thirty-seven percent ranked "communicating performance on sustainability to investors and stakeholders" as a major priority, and 24 percent ranked it as the leading priority.
The EIU study also revealed reasons why a focus on sustainability makes good business sense. EIU found that global companies that have delivered strong share price growth over the past three years are more proactive on corporate sustainability issues than those that have seen their share price stagnate or decline.
Project Announcements
Skilcraft Expands Boone County, Kentucky, Operations
08/11/2022
Producer Owned Beef Plans Amarillo, Texas, Processing Plant
08/11/2022
Amber Wave Opens Phillipsburg, Kansas, Wheat Protein Plant
08/10/2022
Global Resources International Expands Dothan, Alabama, Operations
08/10/2022
Supply Chain Services Plans Bowling Green, Kentucky, Operations
08/10/2022
RANAR Screen Printing Equipment Relocates-Plans Union, Missouri, Operations
08/09/2022
Most Read
-
In Focus: “Golden Age” of Spec Development
Q3 2022
-
The 2021 Top States for Doing Business Reflect Their Locational Advantages
Q3 2021
-
Area Development’s 17th Annual Shovel Awards Recognize State and Local Economic Development Efforts — First Two Platinum Shovels Awarded
Q2 2022
-
In Focus: Demand for Industrial Land Surges
Q2 2022
-
Explosive Growth of Life Sciences Sector Comes with Challenges
Q3 2022
-
36th Annual Corporate Survey: Executives Focus on Labor, Energy, Shipping Costs
Q1 2022
-
The Evolution of the Megasite
Q2 2022