Via Environmental Leader:
The growth of investment in sustainable business programs will be between 50 and 100 percent higher in 2013 than in 2011, according to new projections by analyst firm Verdantix. The firm predicts that the global sustainable business market will reach a “tipping point” in 2013, based on an analysis of the spending patterns of more than 2,500 global firms. Spend on sustainability programs by Australian, Canadian, U.K. and U.S. companies with over $1 billion in sales will hit $60 billion in 2013, Verdantix predicts. ... The analyst firm said that the global recession killed the idea of sustainable business spending as an ethical imperative to simply stop climate change. Instead, boards are increasingly in tune with the idea that global economic growth increases natural resource costs and causes risky environmental impacts, changing the source of competitive advantage. By 2013, CEOs will be more receptive to big environmental investments as they continue to face booming demand in Asia, proven benefits from clean-tech innovation, an increasingly tough policy environment and evidence that sustainable offerings can drive topline growth, Verdantix added.
Remember, though, we were starting from a very small base prior to 2011, so such dramatic growth is not as statistically surprising as it sounds. But this is till good news