Financial short-termism: a barrier to long term thinking
A survey - The Sustainability Survey - conducted by GlobeScan and SustainAbility shows that “of attitudes across businesses, NGOs, academia and government … a very large majority (88%) of the 642 experts polled see pressure for short-term financial results as a barrier to businesses becoming more sustainable.”
Here is some really useful data that shows how businesses and top academics are considering that bringing long-term thinking into the heart of a business is a key to ensuring that it achieves sustainability.
The results of the Sustainability survey will be published in an upcoming UNEP report on how business can play a role in transitioning to the Green Economy.
Achim Steiner, who is the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) Executive Director, said: “The Green Economy analysis by UNEP and partners clearly outlines pathways towards growing the global economy, generating employment and combating poverty while keeping humanity’s footprint within ecological boundaries.
“This survey underlines that governments must play their part, national and internationally, in setting the standards and backing the smart policies needed to promote sustainability over extraction and degradation of the world’s natural resource base. It is happening, but not fast enough. Rio+20 in June offers an opportunity for governments to accelerate and to scale-up a better future for seven billion people” he states [my emphasis].
Rio + 20 is an important milestone in the year 2012 and it has the potential to ensure that the long-term interests of young and future generations are at the forefront of the decision-making process.
First published by UNEP, 26 January 2012
