Competitive Advantage Tops List of Reasons for Sustainability Initiatives

The study was conducted in support of the Marrakech Process of the United Nations agenda on Sustainable Consumption and Production, and reveals the strategies and capabilities of companies with sustainability-framed initiatives to increase food quality, safety, and overall corporate responsibility.

13/03/09 New research by Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company, entitled "Sustaining the Global Food Supply Chain: Three Keys to Gaining Competitive Advantage" investigates the sustainability initiatives of food and beverage sector companies. The study was conducted in support of the Marrakech Process of the United Nations agenda on Sustainable Consumption and Production, and reveals the strategies and capabilities of companies with sustainability-framed initiatives to increase food quality, safety, and overall corporate responsibility.

In fact 56% of respondents rank "the need for competitive advantage"
as the top business pressure driving their organization to focus on a sustainability initiative.

Survey results show that top performing firms have made a resoundingly strong business case for integrating sustainability into corporate strategy. Leading companies in this study achieved the following performance improvements:

• 19% decrease in energy costs
• 17% decrease in waste / disposal costs
• 13% decrease in defects / non-conforming goods over last 12 months
• 5% decrease in year-over-year overall operational costs relative to changes in volume of business
• 15% increase in customer acquisition rate

"Top performing companies are driving down operational costs while increasing operational efficiency," states Jhana Senxian, research analyst and report author.  "This has especially high impact during economically challenging times. The hyper-visibility and critical nature of food company practices -- and missteps -- have driven thought leading companies to adopt strategies geared to responsibly sustaining the business while also sustaining the environmental and social infrastructures upon which the business depends."