New York — In an in-depth study conducted by CFO Research in collaboration with global commercial real estate and money management firm Jones Lang LaSalle, CFOs and other senior finance executives overwhelmingly report that environmental sustainability is an increasingly important issue for their companies, and that a range of significant financial benefits are achievable for companies that can implement strategies that truly reduce their impact on the environment. The study surveyed 175 corporate CFOs and senior finance executives.

Among the key findings of the report:

• More than half of finance executives believe their companies are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to increase revenue, reduce operating costs, improve investor returns and shareholder value, and improve employee retention through sustainability. The most often cited benefits were reduced risk (“very” or “somewhat” likely to produce benefits at 78 percent of companies), enhanced brand and reputation (77 percent), customer retention (72 percent), and improved employee health and productivity (68 percent).
• The highest priority objectives in corporate sustainability are regulatory compliance (ranked as a high priority for 61 percent and a mid-level priority for 26 percent of respondents), improving energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions (a high priority for 47 percent, mid-level for 32 percent), and reducing the environmental impact of operations (45 percent and 32 percent).
• The greatest barriers to incorporating sustainability into financial strategy include the inability to measure the effects of sustainability on shareholder value (ranked among the top three challenges by 46 percent of respondents), inability to document the effects on financial performance (37 percent), and a lack of standard decision-making frameworks that consider environmental factors (36 percent). The least significant challenge was organization resistance, ranked among the top three barriers by just 20 percent of respondents.

Although most finance executives acknowledged that their own role in driving sustainability was limited, the survey results point to a tremendous opportunity for CFOs to guide their companies to sustainable strategies that bring financial success, according to Lauralee Martin, Global Chief Operating and Financial Officer at Jones Lang LaSalle.

In 2007, Jones Lang LaSalle helped corporations reduce energy usage by 210 million kilowatt-hours, saving $38 million in energy costs and reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 133,000 metric tons. The firm provides more than 11,000 properties with specialized energy services, manages 27 buildings that received ENERGY STAR certification in 2008, and has 40 Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) registered project under way totaling more than 25 million square feet.

About the Study
CFO Research, in collaboration with Jones Lang LaSalle, surveyed 175 senior finance executives and conducted in-depth interviews with executives at several firms, including Bank of America and Herman Miller. Results are detailed in “The Role of Finance in Environmental Sustainability Efforts,” a report available by request from Jones Lang LaSalle.

For more information, visit www.joneslanglasalle.com.