Findings from the inaugural annual Sustainability Survey by GlobeScan and SustainAbility show that thought leaders across the world view corporate leadership on sustainability to be far behind that of NGOs and social entrepreneurs, and only slightly better than governments in pushing the sustainability agenda forward.

More than 1,600 experts were surveyed in March 2009 on a range of topics related to sustainability. Respondents are drawn from corporate, government, NGO, academic, research, and service organisations, and span more than 90 countries in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, Europe, North and South America, Australia and New Zealand. The Sustainability Survey is the largest global poll of the views of sustainability experts.

The survey also suggests that a new generation of corporate leaders in sustainability is starting to emerge.

"It is those companies that are able to communicate effectively with stakeholders and distill their commitment to sustainability into a convincing them that seem to be able to occupy the highest regard in the minds of stakeholders. Interface's Mission Zero, Marks & Spencer's Plan A, GE's Ecomagination and more recently, IBM's Smarter Planet, are all emblematic of this approach and allows for the connecting of the company's core essence - its brand - with its sustainability commitments," said Vice President of Global Insights and Strategy at GlobeScan Chris Coulter.