Communicating the Commitment

The path towards global societal sustainability must start with the demonstration of individual leadership and commitment. Over 2700 articles, speeches, press releases, and presentations in the public domain were reviewed for evidence of communication content that reflected the director s awareness of, or commitment to, elements of sustainable development. Each item associated with the citation count listed in Table 8.11 reflects an article containing a combined reference to a specific director, as well as some aspect of sustainable development. 

Overall, more than 40 percent of the directors had citations that could be related to the tenets of sustainable development. The number of citations is an important indication of the propensity of the directors to speak to the public about issues related to sustainable development. The frequency with which directors refer to sustainable development in their communications is another important indication of personal commitment. The evidence in Table 8.11 suggests that between 29 and 58 percent of board members are actively speaking in terms that reflect a predisposition to sustainable development. 

TABLE 8.10. Director Affiliations with Other Sustainability Initiatives 

Company Number of Directors UN Global Reporting Initiative Companies UN Global Compact Companies World Business Council on Sustainable Development 

TABLE 8.11. Directors with Sustainable Development (SD) Citations 

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