Sustainability
96% of businesses feel increasing pressure to become more sustainable
Overview
The vast majority of businesses see environmental sustainability as a priority (85%). They are grabbing the opportunity of change and transformation to prioritise sustainability and build back better.1
We are committed to helping businesses transition to a more sustainable future, which means unlocking finance - the single greatest challenge many businesses, like yours, face in operating more sustainably.
Sustainability and commercial goals go hand in hand - your business case for sustainability investment from those who already are:
Is sustainability still a priority in a pandemic?
Watch the replay of our LinkedIn Live event, as part of the Navigator Perspectives series. On 19 October, the BBC's Babita Sharma was joined from the United Arab Emirates by Daniel Howlett, HSBC's regional head of Commercial Banking in the Middle East, North Africa and Turkey (MENAT) and client, Malek Sukkar, CEO of Averda, one of the Middle East's leading waste management companies, exploring the sustainability findings from our Resilience: Building Back Better report.
They discussed whether sustainability remains top of business agendas when planning for future growth, during the Covid-19 pandemic and beyond.
(33 minutes)
What barriers does your business face in the transition to a more sustainable future? 2
- Extra finance: 35% of businesses see finance as a barrier. Win buy-in by showing how sustainable practices improve efficiencies, gain a competitive advantage and grow sales.
- Find the time: 31% of businesses struggle with the availability of people and time to enable their business to become more sustainable. Demonstrate that the time investment could enable your business headcount to grow, through attracting and retaining top talent.
- Lack of consistent measurement and reporting: 27% of businesses are frustrated by the lack of consistency in the measurement of ESG principles. Attitudes are shifting and businesses like yours are focusing on product safety and quality, energy usage, and executive salary and compensation.
The pandemic has really opened our eyes to what is happening to the planet. A number of large cities in Asia, and beyond, have seen blue skies for the first time, perhaps in years. Companies are going to be responding much more strongly to ensure we play our role in cleaning up the environment.
The ambition to do more on sustainability is a common theme of my conversations with clients. Pre- COVID we debated corporate purpose and the notion that ‘value’ reflects a more holistic view of the full financial, social and environmental impacts of a business. We’re now seeing a societal shift that will take this further and faster. If business value increasingly reflects return to society, it follows that wider societal factors will inform financing decisions. For business it will mean re-drawing the implicit contract with society in a way that demonstrates we are all part of the solution.
HSBC Navigator has found that for many businesses, becoming more sustainable is not only beneficial for the environment and for society, but for their bottom line too. Never has there been a more important time for businesses to play their part in creating a more sustainable future. Forward thinking companies are acting now.
Contact a Relationship Manager to ask for them to support your sustainability transition.
Sources:
1. HSBC’s Navigator surveyed more than 2,600 business decision-makers in 14 markets. Research by Kantar for HSBC, May 2020
2. HSBC’s Navigator surveyed 9,131 business decision-makers in 35 markets. Research by Kantar for HSBC, August and September 2019