The growth of investment in sustainable business programs will be between 50 and 100 percent higher in 2013 than in 2011, according to new projections by analyst firm Verdantix.
The firm predicts that the global sustainable business market will reach a “tipping point” in 2013, based on an analysis of the spending patterns of more than 2,500 global firms. Spend on sustainability programs by Australian, Canadian, U.K. and U.S. companies with over $1 billion in sales will hit $60 billion in 2013, Verdantix predicts.
Verdantix said its analysis is based on four years of research on sustainable business market trends and the firm’s proprietary Critical Moments market size and forecast models.
The analyst said that over the past four years, its research has shown the rise of the chief sustainability officer (CSO), who increasingly leads the strategic development of enterprise-wide sustainability programs. Firms including AECOM, Alcoa, Capgemini, Orange, SAP, Smithfield Foods, UPS and Vedanta Resources now have CSOs with budget and authority, Verdantix said.