Chief financial officers worldwide have spoken, and they are aligning themselves with their companies’ sustainability strategies.

Nearly half (49 percent) of 250 CFOs polled by a recent Deloitte survey indicated that they find a significant link between sustainability performance and financial performance. Deloitte’s findings are published in “Sustainability: CFOs are coming to the table” and highlight the responses of CFOs in 14 countries and five continents.

Survey responses indicate that more executives are turning to sustainability for a competitive advantage: Most CFOs polled (66 percent) indicated that the investment of cleantech products is “important” to their firms, while 59 percent viewed cleantech acquisitions or sustainability assets as important.

Specific sustainability measures varied, but the CFOs indicated that they plan to invest in three key areas. Fifty-six percent will implement video conferencing in order to cut down carbon-producing travel, while 52 percent will invest in data center efficiency equipment. Another 35 percent will shift to electric vehicles to help reduce carbon footprints.

Beyond such sustainability strategies, CFO engagement is also becoming stronger. Over half (53 percent) of CFOs said they have become more involved in their companies’ sustainability plans, while 61 percent said they expect their involvement to increase over the next two years.

“As such, CFOs have begun to take an active role in driving the execution of sustainability strategies and making key organizational changes within their organizations, such as introducing more sustainable technology and deploying environment-friendly policies,” said Deloitte Sustainability Leader Dave Pearson.

Deloitte also indicated the leading countries for cleantech innovation, with Denmark, Israel, Sweden, Finland and the United States comprising the top five nations.

For comprehensive findings, see the Deloitte survey announcement here.

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