According to a survey, about one-half of businesses worldwide have a sustainability strategy and those with a strategy tend to be more focused on improving their public image and responding to increasing regulations than on meeting social needs or generating revenue opportunities.

The findings are based on a survey of companies in 25 countries and in 40 industries. It was sponsored by Pinnacle Worldwide Inc., a global organization of independent public relations firms, and developed by The Vandiver Group Inc., a Pinnacle member.

“By measuring businesses’ view of sustainability, we’ve confirmed opportunities to capture strategic advantage that go beyond pollution control,” said Ronald Hanser, Pinnacle chairman and president of West Des Moines-based Hanser & Associates, in a press release.

Findings also showed that nearly one-third of businesses are developing a sustainability strategy and just less than one-half already have a strategy. Six percent of respondents characterized their company as a “recognized leader” in sustainability. Larger companies are slightly more likely than smaller businesses to have strategy and staff dedicated to the area of sustainability. Meanwhile, 75 percent of respondents said sustainability is either “an important part of our organization’s corporate strategy” or that they expect the topic “to become increasingly important in the future.”

“The biggest business opportunities associated with sustainability have yet to be seized by corporations, particularly those involving next-generation clean technologies and those that serve the unmet needs at the base of the global income pyramid,” said Stuart Hart, the Samuel C. Johnson chair in Sustainable Global Enterprise at Cornell University, who inspired many of the survey questions.

For full results of the survey, click here.