The Economist Intelligence Unit’s report, “Doing good: Business and the sustainability challenge”, surveyed 1,254 senior business executives to find out how, if at all, stock performance correlates to CSR performance.
Although the report’s authors are quick to point out that the findings do not show a cause-and-effect relationship between sustainability practices and increased value, the companies surveyed that showed 50 percent or greater growth in stock price over the last three years were also more likely to devote resources to their CSR activities than companies whose stock price dropped by 10 percent or more in the same time frame.
The study found more high-growth companies ranked social and environmental goals as high priorities than did of those companies whose stocks declined in value. Among the practices cited were improving the environmental and human-rights performance of supply chains (40 percent vs. 18 percent), reducing greenhouse gases (38 percent vs. 24 percent), and developing innovative products and services that address social and environmental problems (49 percent to 35 percent).