INSIGHT September/October 2008

RESEARCH How Green Are You? Is Illinois’ finance community answering the call for greening? By Judy Giannetto W hen you’re making a business case for going green—especially to a group of accountants and finance executives—you’ve got to expect a bit of a mixed bag of reactions— from, “We’re making our business green and loving it” to “What’s green got to do with us?”Admittedly, it’s going to take a major feat to engage the finance community. But engage it must. Why? Because green isn’t just about improving air quality or preventing deforestation. That’s an extremely blinkered view. Rather, it’s about public image, employee retention, client satisfaction, marketability and, most important for most, the bottom line. The Internet is swimming in studies, surveys and research that prove the point again and again and again… Still adamant that environmental issues don’t impact your corner of the business world? Then cast your mind back to the boss who said information technology would never have a place in finance, and that no self-respecting, reputation-worthy accounting firm would need a website to market its services. You get the point, right? To gain insight into what Illinois CPAs think about “the greening of business,” the Illinois CPA Society recently surveyed a group of 113 ICPAS members—all holding leadership and major decision-making positions, including CFO, controller, president, executive director, vice president, owner, principal and director of finance. The majority (66 percent) were drawn from small businesses (less than $50 million in annual revenues), with the next largest segment (14 percent) representing large companies (over $250 million in revenues). Sixty-five percent of respondents identified themselves as business & industry, 20 percent as public practice, and 14 percent as nonprofit/government/education. When asked about the level of importance of green initiatives within their organizations, only 22 percent reported that these initiatives are a high or moderately high priority. The majority (43 percent) indicated that they are moderately important, while 35 percent stated that they are either not a priority or a low priority at best. Furthermore, only 11 percent stated that their organizations currently have a green policy in place, versus 84 percent who have no green policy. Only 17 percent intend to implement a policy in the next 3 years. The majority (82 percent) either do not intend to implement a policy or don’t know whether a policy is on the horizon. And yet, when asked about the importance of corporate social responsibility (CSR) to their organizations, only 6 percent responded “not at all.” In fact, 26 percent stated that it is very important, and 68 percent consider it to be moderately important. Taking a “glass is half full” approach, perhaps this indicates an awakening within the finance industry—an acknowledgement that corporate social responsibility is important to business sustainability. However, a disconnect obviously exists between recognition and implementation when it comes to the role of environmental issues in CSR programs. Of the greening strategies outlined, the vast majority (69 percent) do make it a policy to recycle, with 61 percent encouraging their employees to do so. Sixty percent indicate that their organizations recycle paper and paper products specifically, while 48 percent use recyclable supplies and 44 percent refill ink cartridges. Other high-scoring initiatives include energy-saving lighting (48 percent) and paperless technologies (40 percent). Among those organizations planning for the future, the top three initiatives under consideration are paperless technologies 10 THE GREEN ISSUE - PLEASE RECYCLE

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INSIGHT September / October 2008 Table of Contents Firsh Word Seen + Heard How Green Are You? Follow The Leaders

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