Research Report
Want business growth tomorrow? Act on climate today.
5-MINUTE READ
October 26, 2021
Research Report
5-MINUTE READ
October 26, 2021
Today's executives are managing through geopolitical tensions, a global pandemic, talent scarcity, frequent cyberattacks and, on top of all that, a climate emergency. That's according to 2,600+ CEOs from 128 countries and 18 industries, as shared in the 12th United Nations Global Compact-Accenture CEO Study.
Sustainability is clearly at the top of the CEO agenda, as it protects companies across industries against the rising tide of uncertainty. And while we've seen Chief Sustainability Officers join executive teams in record numbers, CEOs are taking direct ownership of sustainability issues.
Our study found that 98% of CEOs now unequivocally feel it is their role to make their business more sustainable. And, in 2022, nearly three-quarters of CEOs agreed they were accountable for their firm's sustainability performance—up from just 19% in 2013.
CEOs aren't just talking about sustainability or viewing it as a regulatory compliance issue. They're also making real changes to their businesses to better engage with key stakeholders. Four in 10 (39%) are increasing R&D funding for sustainable innovation, for example. Additionally, more than half (54%) of CEOs are improving visibility into the social impacts of their company’s value chain, and a third (34%) are reducing scope 3 emissions. It’s a meaningful shift in C-suite priorities.
Modern CEOs are owning their responsibility to protect local communities in the regions they operate. At the same time, the majority (90%) feel that limited support from government is negatively impacting their ability to tackle today's interlinked global challenges. These leaders want to see governments adopt more "green" policies—including incentives for renewables and establishing a global price on carbon—to help the private sector create a more equitable and sustainable world.
63%
are launching new products and services for sustainability |
55%
are enhancing sustainability data collection across their value chains
49%
are investing in renewable energy resources
49%
are transitioning to circular business models to build resilience
Embracing sustainability offers opportunities for industry transformation, competitiveness and new growth. Here are the 15 core initiatives CEOs should embed across their businesses.
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Climate change, resource scarcity, and land deterioration, coupled with an increase in demand due to a rising population, creates a challenging environment for agriculture CEOs to provide affordable, high-quality food for a growing world. Factors such as supply chain disruptions and price volatility, exacerbated by geopolitical tensions, are compounding the pressure, highlighting the need for a fundamental transformation of the global food system.
1
Climate
change
2
Inflation &
Price volatility
3
Trade
regulation
Regenerative agriculture practices (75% high impact)
Seed technology (71% high impact)
Digital agriculture (67% high impact)
Advanced aquaculture (52% high impact)
Controlled environment agriculture (35% high impact)
Global decarbonization efforts, fueled by climate change concerns and fuel price changes, are shaping the long-term outlook for the automotive industry. While companies are struggling with logistics in the short term, including price volatility, supply chain disruptions, and infrastructure needs, they remain committed to trends like electrification and circular product management to unlock the green transition.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Talent
scarcity
3
Threats to
public health
Electrification (64% high impact)
Circular vehicle lifecycle management (63% high impact)
Software-connected vehicles (58% high impact)
Real-time supply chain data management (51% high impact)
As a large emitter of greenhouse gases, the chemical industry is facing intense pressure to reduce its environmental footprint. At the same time, as an energy-intensive industry, it is disproportionately impacted by the volatility in the energy and resources markets. CEOs are, therefore, looking to sustainable business models and materials as a resilience booster and growth path.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Trade
regulation
3
Climate
change
Emerging fossil fuel alternatives to power chemical processes (58% high impact)
Advanced recycling (57% high impact)
Shift toward circular business models of production to limit virgin inputs (52% high impact)
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS) (46% high impact)
Biodegradable materials (35% high impact)
The shift to digital has placed the communications & media industry under severe stress. To address the rise in demand, CEOs are investing heavily in building resilient and efficient infrastructure, as well as fostering a strong workforce and underlying governance to be able to provide affordable, equitable access to all.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Talent
scarcity
3
Threats to
public health
Cloud-native cybersecurity (54% high impact)
Virtualized, cloud-native communications infrastructure (52% high impact)
Resources for responsible media consumption (48% high impact)
Information validation to protect against misinformation (47% high impact)
Circular economy principles and responsible resource management (40% high impact)
As one of the greatest consumers of raw materials globally, as well as a major carbon emitter, the construction & materials industry is radically altering their business models, from the materials they use to the design of the buildings. Material shortages and price volatility, coupled with stakeholder pressure, are incentivizing a sustainable revolution within the industry.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Talent
scarcity
3
Threats to
public health
Innovative low-carbon materials (62% high impact)
Distributed renewable energy generation (58% high impact)
Use of modular components designed for circularity (48% high impact)
Water conservation appliances and systems (45% high impact)
Sensors and analytics to monitor building occupancy for operational efficiency (44% high impact)
With consumer pressure putting sustainability front and center for the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) and retail industries, CEOs are increasingly looking to launch new sustainable products and offerings to increase competitiveness. Paired with supply chain disruptions, which are creating resource instability and price fluctuations, the concept of circularity is becoming increasingly viable and attractive for both sectors to build resilience and embrace sustainability.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Threats to
public health
3
Trade
regulation
Circular business models (55% high impact)
Product-level ESG data to follow for end-to-end supply chain traceability (43% high impact)
Data integration across value chain partners (37% high impact)
AI and predictive analytics to efficiently drive merchandising and production decisions (27% high impact)
Dynamic, real-time inventory management (26% high impact)
With consumer pressure putting sustainability front and center for the consumer-packaged goods (CPG) and retail industries, CEOs are increasingly looking to launch new sustainable products and offerings to increase competitiveness. Paired with supply chain disruptions, which are creating resource instability and price fluctuations, the concept of circularity is becoming increasingly viable and attractive for both sectors to build resilience and embrace sustainability.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Trade
regulation
3
Threats to
public health
Sustainable and refillable packaging practices (45% high impact)
End-to-end carbon calculators to help manage and report Scope 3 emissions with suppliers (45% high impact)
Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics to efficiently drive merchandising and production decisions (44% high impact)
Bio-based materials derived from waste by products (44% high impact)
Product-level ESG data to allow for end-to-end supply chain traceability (39% high impact)
The energy industry is enduring massive disruption, with the pandemic and the war in Ukraine triggering spikes in energy prices and threatening the security of supply. This disruption presents a unique opportunity for CEOs to accelerate their adoption of low-carbon fuels, invest in innovations to decarbonize, and expand energy access and equity.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Climate
change
3
Trade
regulation
Renewable energy (77% high impact)
Energy storage and battery technology (69% high impact)
Interconnected power girds (61% high impact)
Carbon capture, utilization, and storage (51% high impact)
Hydrogen fuel (46% high impact)
CEOs in the financial services sector are in a unique position to drive sustainability action, as they have the power and capital to fuel progress on global sustainability goals, which are often hindered by a lack of access to finance. While significant progress has been made in deploying capital for sustainability progress, it is not uniform and is largely yet to reach the Global South.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Cybercrime
3
Threats to
public health
Real-time portfolio risk analysis (40% high impact)
Standards to assess the risk profile of private companies (39% high impact)
Learning platforms for ESG upskilling (35% high impact)
Artificial intelligence – empowered scenario analysis to mitigate climate risk (31% high impact)
Impact underwriting (26% high impact)
The healthcare and life sciences (LS) industries are undergoing a period of compressed transformation, driven by the global pandemic. In health, these changes focus on a more resilient, equitable healthcare system, that provide access to all. The LS industry is focused on technology-enabled drug discovery and development that provides better health outcomes and relieves pressure on the global healthcare infrastructure.
1
Threats to
public health
2
Inflation &
Price volatility
3
Talent
scarcity
Digital health services delivery (63% high impact)
Artificial intelligence to transform precision medicine and diagnosis (52% high impact)
Augmented and virtual reality enabled health services or patient care services (43% high impact)
Machine learning for epidemic/pandemic modeling (42% high impact)
Artificial intelligence-enabled real time staffing and inventory monitoring (31% high impact)
The healthcare and life sciences (LS) industries are undergoing a period of compressed transformation, driven by the global pandemic. In health, these changes focus on a more resilient, equitable healthcare system, that provide access to all. The LS industry is focused on technology-enabled drug discovery and development that provides better health outcomes and relieves pressure on the global healthcare infrastructure.
1
Threats to
public health
2
Inflation &
Price volatility
3
Talent
scarcity
Artificial intelligence to transform precision medicine (48% high impact)
Biosynthetic drug production (42% high impact)
Machine learning to optimize drug candidate design (42% high impact)
Artificial intelligence for efficient clinical trials (39% high impact)
Ecosystem regeneration to protect nature-based drug ingredients (39% high impact)
High tech CEOs face ongoing supply chain disruptions, inflationary pressure, trade wars, and geopolitical conflicts impacting profitability and business operations. In response, CEOs plan to decouple their business from volatile regions by re-networking supply chains, doubling down on talent and focusing on raw material procurement to strengthen their business resiliency.
1
Talent
scarcity
2
Inflation &
Price volatility
3
Threats to
public health
R&D to identify substitutes for existing material inputs (46% high impact)
Development of recyclable components in products (43% high impact)
Real-time supply chain data management (41% high impact)
Circular business models (39% high impact)
Inflation, supply chain instability spurred by the pandemic, and increasing consumption of technology products have converged in the industrial sector to create a difficult, volatile operating environment. To weather the storm, CEOs are turning to sustainable business models powered by strong sustainability talent and responsible supply chain practices.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Talent
scarcity
3
Threats to
public health
Sustainable products design (57% high impact)
Circular business models (48% high impact)
R&D to identify new sources for sustainable material inputs (48% high impact)
Low-or-no waste production processes (47% high impact)
Concentrated renewables for heavy industrial manufacturing (37% high impact)
The natural resources industry is facing a massive transformation – once a historically human-intensive industry, the industry is now rapidly embracing technology. The adoption of drones, robotics, and data analytics are radically changing the way the industry can manage raw materials in real time.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Climate
change
3
Biodiversity
loss
Ecosystem restoration (68% high impact)
Circular business models of production to limit material extraction (53% high impact)
Real-time supply chain data ecosystem health (38% high impact)
Digital modeling of ecosystem health (33% high impact)
Precision factory (33% high impact)
While the software and platforms industry drives a more efficient, interconnected market, CEOs are looking to raise their ambition and lead in sustainability and security. Protecting the world’s data, using it responsibly, and doing so in a climate-friendly manner will define whether the software and platforms industry can continue to deliver the outsized returns it has generated over the last two decades.
1
Talent
scarcity
2
Cybercrime
3
Lack of
relevant skills
Cloud computing and data architecture (71% high impact)
Cloud-native cybersecurity (63% high impact)
Data integration across value chain partners (56% high impact)
Digital tools for management of sustainability data (54% high impact)
Low-carbon data centers (40% high impact)
As industries across the world struggle with the results of the pandemic, economic volatility, and geopolitical tensions, support services CEOs are focusing on building resilient workforces and leveraging the power of technology to meet the ever-changing needs of their clients.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Talent
scarcity
3
Threats to
public health
Cloud computing (48% high impact)
Artificial intelligence and predictive analytics for risk planning (40% high impact)
Virtual reality enabled collaboration spaces (30% high impact)
With shutdowns and travel restrictions, the travel industry has been one of the hardest hit by the impacts of the pandemic. As travel bounces back, the industry is struggling to keep up with increased demand for domestic and international travel as it builds up its staff and faces increasing operating costs for labor and energy. Travel CEOs are embracing sustainable business models as they rebuild, focusing heavily on renewables and circular models to transform the future of the industry.
1
Threats to
public health
2
Inflation &
Price volatility
3
Talent
scarcity
Renewable energy (83% high impact)
Circular business models (74% high impact)
Sustainable aviation fuel (63% high impact)
Alternative propulsion (62% high impact)
Biometrics to facilitate contactless interactions (32% high impact)
The utility industry must continue to deliver on its obligation to serve – ensuring reliability of basic resources, such as water and electricity, at an affordable rate – while facing new challenges, such as climate change and decarbonization pressure, which have quickly risen to the top of CEO agendas. A radical transformation to a modern, more flexible grid is imperative to support a clean energy future.
1
Inflation &
Price volatility
2
Talent
scarcity
3
Threats to
public health
Renewables (56% high impact)
Battery efficiency improvements (46% high impact)
Smart-grid technologies (43% high impact)
Interconnected grids (cross-country) (34% high impact)
Underground power lines (13% high impact)