ESG Pressure Rises: Honeywell Sustainability Index
Honeywell International Inc.
Honeywell, a leading global provider of energy and climate transition solutions, has released its 2Q 2023 Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI), a quarterly report that measures key trends, sentiment, and progress on global climate change mitigation and sustainability initiatives, in collaboration with The Futurum Group.
The Environmental Sustainability Index (ESI) surveyed over 750 business leaders directly involved in their organisation's environmental sustainability efforts at a time when ESG-related regulations and global calls to action are increasing.
The latest edition of the ESI revealed that sustainability remains the top priority among corporate initiatives, surpassing digital transformation and market performance by a significant 19-point margin.
Energy Evolution and Efficiency are identified as the leading sustainability priorities for the next six months across all geographies, followed by Emissions Reduction, Pollution Prevention, and Circularity/Recycling initiatives. Notably, Circularity/Recycling is showing the most growth among all categories, indicating that organisations are increasingly focusing on renewing or regenerating products, services, or resources within their supply chains in the second half of 2023.
"Our data shows that companies are unwavering in their commitment to sustainability," said Vimal Kapur, President and Chief Operating Officer of Honeywell. "Despite other challenges, sustainability remains at the top of their priority list, and leaders are taking action."
This increasing trend of optimism towards sustainability is closely aligned with technology adoption, as more organisations are turning to newer, more efficient, and sustainable technologies to achieve their environmental goals. Honeywell's solutions are ready now to support ESG efforts and help organisations worldwide reach their sustainability targets.
In 2022, ESI data showed that organisations primarily focused on process-driven approaches to environmental and sustainability initiatives. However, in 1Q 2023, there was a shift towards a more balanced approach, with technology-driven approaches growing at a slower pace. However, in the current quarter, the shift towards technology-driven approaches has increased, with 56% of respondents noting that they plan to leverage more technology to achieve their environmental sustainability goals in the next 12 months.
"More changes have occurred in the past three months than we anticipated. The third release of Honeywell's Environmental Sustainability Index has revealed new data that highlights an increasing commitment to technology in supporting environmental sustainability activities," said Daniel Newman, principal analyst and CEO of The Futurum Group. "This quarter, we are seeing a shift towards a technology-driven approach, with fewer organisations opting for a balanced approach and process-driven approaches decreasing or remaining unchanged. As we move closer to the 2030 target, we anticipate that the trend toward a technology-driven approach will continue."
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"Companies are continuing to invest in technology to help them achieve their environmental sustainability goals," said Evan van Hook, Chief Sustainability Officer of Honeywell. "We are witnessing firsthand our customers taking action to achieve their goals, whether it's through switching to sustainable aviation fuel, tracking and reducing carbon emissions from buildings, or adopting advanced circularity solutions such as plastics recycling. With the increasing prevalence of AI, technologies will only become smarter and more efficient, making a significant impact on sustainability efforts."
Other key highlights from the study include:
Many businesses are on track to achieve their previously-set sustainability commitments for 2030 and express optimism about achieving them. Globally, 75% of respondents are optimistic about achieving overall environmental sustainability goals across all categories by 2030.
In the United States, specifically, 71% of respondents are optimistic about achieving overall environmental sustainability goals related to emissions reduction by 2030. Moreover, 70% of U.S. respondents report that their organisation is increasing investments to achieve their environmental sustainability goals related to emissions reduction in the next 12 months.
To access the complete environmental sustainability index and survey report, please visit https://www.honeywell.com/us/en/company/sustainability/environmental-sustainability-index.
To view and compare company ESG Ratings and Sustainability Reports across sectors, follow our Company ESG Profiles page.
Source: Honeywell
