BOSTON, MA--(Marketwire - June 9, 2009) -
The ROI of
Sustainability: Making the Business Case, announced by
Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
(
NYSE:
HHS), serves as a roadmap for those attempting to match
environmental and social stewardship to clear and measurable improvements
to their operations and financial results -- thus ensuring the continued
viability of their business. Far from being a philanthropic "nice to have,"
top performing organizations view sustainability as a "must have" strategy
for long-term business profitability and success. An agenda for
sustainability and corporate social responsibility brings together
strategies to ensure optimal performance related to the business, the
environment, and society.
By incorporating sustainability objectives into performance management,
fostering standard policies and focusing on carbon and cost reductions, top
performers achieved 9% reduction in carbon footprint, 6% reduction in
energy costs, 7% reduction in facilities costs and 10% reduction in paper,
all while managing to improve customer retention by 16%.
"Gone are the days when pretty pictures in the annual report were enough to
demonstrate sustainability and corporate social responsibility. A growing
number of companies must provide verifiable evidence of social and
environmental impacts," said Cindy Jutras, vice president and research
fellow, Aberdeen. "Yet, in order to justify the continued application of
resources, companies must also demonstrate real business results. Leading
companies are 52% more likely to incorporate sustainability performance
indicators in measuring the performance of the full supply chain. This is
often combined with sustainable sourcing strategies, focusing not only
within their own four walls but encouraging, or even demanding suppliers
demonstrate sustainable, responsible, ethical practices."
A complimentary copy of this report is made available due in part by the
following underwriters: Infor, Intelex, and SAP. To obtain a
complimentary copy of the report, visit:
http://www.aberdeen.com/link/sponsor.asp?cid=5908.
For additional access to complimentary
Supply Chain Management Research, please visit
http://research.aberdeen.com/index.php/-supply-chain-management
About Aberdeen Group, a Harte-Hanks Company
Aberdeen provides fact-based research and market intelligence that delivers
demonstrable results. Having queried more than 30,000 companies in the
past two years, Aberdeen is positioned to educate users to action: driving
market awareness, creating demand, enabling sales, and delivering
meaningful return-on-investment analysis. As the trusted advisor to the
global technology markets, corporations turn to Aberdeen™ for insights that
drive decisions.
As a Harte-Hanks Company, Aberdeen plays a key role of putting content in
context for the global direct and targeted marketing company. Aberdeen's
analytical and independent view of the "customer optimization" process of
Harte-Hanks (Information - Opportunity - Insight - Engagement -
Interaction) extends the client value and accentuates the strategic role
Harte-Hanks brings to the market. For additional information, visit
Aberdeen or call (617) 723-7890, or to
learn more about
Harte-Hanks,
call (800) 456-9748.
© 2009 Aberdeen Group, Inc., a Harte-Hanks Company
451 D Street, Suite 710
Boston, Massachusetts 02210-1928
Telephone: (617) 854-5200
Fax: (617) 723-7897
www.aberdeen.com
Contact Information: Media Contact:
Cindy Jutras
Aberdeen Harte-Hanks
(617) 854-5247
Cindy.jutras@aberdeen.com