Key Challenges and Industry Performance

Methodology
512 qualified sustainability experts completed the on-line questionnaire July 13 August 19, 2011. Respondents were drawn from: corporate, government, non-governmental, academic/research, and service (e.g., consulting) organizations. Experts surveyed span 64 countries in Asia, Africa, Middle East, Europe, North America, Latin America, Caribbean, Australia, and New Zealand, and comprise a highly-experienced respondent pool: 63 percent have more than ten years of experience working on sustainability issues.

27 percent have five to ten years of experience.

10 percent have three to four years of experience.

Respondents with less than three years of sustainability experience have been excluded from the results.

Notes to Readers: All figures in the charts and tables in this report are expressed in percentages, unless otherwise noted. Total percentages may not add to 100 because of rounding.

Key Findings
Experts rate climate change, water scarcity and food security as the worlds most urgent challenges; this highlights the severity of the energy-water-food nexus

Yet the urgency of top issues has declined since 2009 due to a combination of factors
Experts predict that energy and climate change will pose the most urgent sustainable development challenge in their country next year Europeans and North Americans are most concerned with energy and climate, while those from emerging markets focus on climate and water issues

According to experts, no sector is managing the transition to sustainable development effectively; all 17 sectors are perceived as net negative
Leading sectors including forest products have shown marginal improvement in their ability to manage the transition to sustainability in recent years Experts say the electronics and chemical sectors ability to manage the transition to sustainability has deteriorated most since 2000

Prioritizing SD Challenges

Experts rate climate change, water scarcity and food security as worlds most urgent challenges; highlight energy-water-food nexus
Urgent (4+5) Neutral (3) 81 79 73 72 71 70 63 61 60 59 59 56 54 54 50 47 45 41 41 24 25 29 26 26 31 32 32 Not urgent (1+2) DK/NA 11 12 17 19 22 23 5 6 7 8 4 5 10 12 9 12 13 11 12 3 3 3 1 3 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 3 2 2 4 2 3 2 2

Climate change Water scarcity Food security Poverty Biodiversity loss Water pollution Corruption Human rights Access to medicines/healthcare Access to energy Malnutrition Expanding primary/secondary education Air pollution Economic development Ocean acidification Persistent, bioaccumulative toxins Infectious disease (e.g., malaria and HIV/AIDS) Diversity/discrimination (gender/economic/racial) Access to information Electronic waste

28 34 36
37 35

20 15 17 19 22 29

32

37

TSS11_w4_2

Considering societys numerous sustainable development challenges, please rate the urgency of each of the following :. Please use a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means not urgent at all and 5 means very urgent.

Yet the urgency of all top issues has declined since 2009 due to a combination of factors
Urgent (4+5), Top Five Issues, 20092011
Commentary Climate change
81 82 79 73 73 76 72 77 89

Water scarcity
Food security Poverty Biodiversity loss

Reasons for the decline in urgency may include:

87

93

84

2011 2010 2009

71 73

82

Continued economic malaise Frustration with the lack of political will to enact effective policy changes Acceptance that these issues as a permanent part of our social and political economy The diversity and complexity of global issues is taking the focus off the top issues

TSS11w4_2_track

Considering societys numerous sustainable development challenges, please rate the urgency of each of the following :. Please use a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 means not urgent at all and 5 means very urgent.

SD Issue Agenda for Next Year

Experts predict that energy and climate change will pose the most urgent sustainable development challenge in their country next year
Energy issues
31 19 16 12

Climate change
Water issues Political failure (lack of will/regulation)

Awareness
Economic issues Balancing growth and sustainability Poverty and inequity Introducing carbon tax/pricing / carbon-free economy Over-consumption/population Deforestation / land use
5 4 3 3 6 6 9

11
11

Commentary It is interesting that food scarcity/quality ranks low here, but among the top three global issues. Experts believe that food scarcity/quality will be a problem somewhere else in the world. This result may reflect underweighting of respondents from emerging markets which will be impacted most.
TSS11_w4_1

Transportation/infrastructure
Preserving biodiversity/ecosystems Food scarcity/quality Corruption Phase-out/clean-up of nuclear power Education
1

2
2

What do you consider to be the most urgent sustainable development challenges facing your country over the next year? Please enter up to two responses

While energy is consistently the top challenge, corporate experts show higher concern for water issues and NGOs for awareness
Government Energy issues Climate change Water issues Political failure (lack of will/regulation) Economic issues 33 18 8 13 18 NGO 33 14 10 14 9 Institutional 27 20 17 14 12 Corporate 32 20 23 7 13 Service/ media 32 19 16 12 8

Awareness
Balancing growth and sustainability Poverty and inequity Over-consumption/population Introducing carbon tax/pricing / carbonfree economy Deforestation / land use Transportation/infrastructure

10
13 3 10

16
7 5 2

10
10 9 10

9
13 7 9

11
3 6 3

8
0 0

3
10 7

4
4 5

6
4 3

10
5 5

What do you consider to be the most urgent sustainable development challenges facing your country over the next year? Please enter up to two responses

Europeans and North Americans most concerned with energy and climate, and those in emerging markets focus on energy and water
30 27 13 18 18 23

Energy issues Climate change Water issues Political failure (lack of will/regulation) Awareness Balancing growth and sustainability Economic issues Poverty and inequity
3

36

North America Europe Emerging markets*

8
12

24 17

14 9 8 10 11 9 10 16

13
11
*Includes Asia, Africa / Middle East, and Latin America / Caribbean

Deforestation / land use

3 3

10

What do you consider to be the most urgent sustainable development challenges facing your country over the next year? Please enter up to two responses

Industry Performance

11

According to experts, no sector is managing the transition to sustainable development effectively

Good (4+5) Neutral (3) 29 36 35 Poor (1+2) 37 34 34 DK/NA 5 6 8

Forest products Information technology Life sciences / biotechnology Telecommunications Agriculture / food/beverage Packaging Electric utilities Public sector institutions / government agencies Consumer goods Banking/finance Chemical Automotive Pharmaceutical Electronics Alcoholic beverage Oil/gas Mining

29 24 23

17 17
14 14 13 13 12 12 12 11 10 24 31 33 30 33 31 33 31 31

36 36
49

41

6 4
6 4 4 5 6 5 4 6 5

49 52 51 58 52 51 53 52

9 8
7

26 18
22

59 70
66

6 4
5
TSS11_w4_4

12

Please rate how well each of the following industry sectors is managing its transition to sustainable development in your cou ntry or region. Please use the 5-point scale provided (where 1 is "poor" and 5 is "excellent").

Leading sectors including forest products have shown marginal improvement in the ability to manage the transition to sustainability
Good (4+5), 20002011
40 Forest products

Information technology
30

Life sciences / biotechnology Agriculture / food/beverage Electric utilities

Packaging

20

10

TSS11w4_4_track1

13

Please rate how well each of the following industry sectors is managing its transition to sustainable development in your cou ntry or region. Please use the 5-point scale provided (where 1 is "poor" and 5 is "excellent").

In decline: Experts say the electronics and chemical sectors ability to manage the transition has deteriorated most since 2000
Good (4+5), 20002011
40 Telecommunications Public sector institutions / government agencies Banking/finance Chemical Pharmaceutical 20 Electronics Oil/gas Mining

30

10

TSS11w4_4_track2

14

Please rate how well each of the following industry sectors is managing its transition to sustainable development in your cou ntry or region. Please use the 5-point scale provided (where 1 is "poor" and 5 is "excellent").

For more information, contact:

Chris Coulter, Senior Vice President chris.coulter@globescan.com

Jeff Erikson, Senior Vice President erikson@sustainability.com SustainAbility, Ltd. 1638 R Street NW, Suite 301 Washington, DC 20009 Washington: +1 202 315 4150 London: +44 20 7269 6900 www.sustainability.com

GlobeScan Incorporated 65 St. Clair Avenue East, Suite 900 Toronto, Canada M4T 2Y3
Toronto: +1 416 962 0707 London: +44 20 7253 1450 San Francisco: +1 415 874 3154 www.globescan.com

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September 2011 GlobeScan