Various corporate executives surveys address the question of what is driving companies to move toward greater sustainability.

According to a 2009 survey of 1,500 business leaders by the Boston Consulting Group and MIT Sloan Management Review, the issues that have the most significant impacts on their organizations are: government legislation, consumers concern, and  employees interest. These were followed in descending order by pollution, depletion of non-renewable resources, social pressures, water supply and access issues, global political security, population growth, and climate change.

The good news is that executives believe that being more sustainable isn't a financial burden for the organization: a 2008 Economist Intelligence Unit survey of over 1,200 business executives found that sustainability is very much compatible with strong financial results. In fact, a majority of executives think that it pays for itself: “the benefits of pursuing sustainability practices outweigh the costs… Specifically, sustainable practices can help reduce costs, open up new markets and improve the company’s reputation.” More specifically, most executives see the primary value of sustainability as improving the image of the company. This is a recurrent finding in numerous surveys.