'We must become the 3 change agents for a sustainable future'.

AuthorBaird, Harold
PositionA word from the president

Like many people I am a fan of National Geographic magazine-its superb photography can often have a much more lasting effect than words. The magazine recently provided a timely wake-up call in an article about human impact. On this occasion the strongest image was a diagram showing the dramatic growth in global population and consumption over the past 50 years.

It was not a pretty picture. But the human mind is extremely innovative and I am convinced that we can manage our natural resources more carefully and combat climate change if we act quickly and prudently. I am also certain that C1MA members have a major role to play in tackling the enormous challenges ahead. CIMA has produced more than a dozen reports to help organisations to embed sustainability into every level of business activity.

One of the most forward-looking sustainability enterprises to emerge in the last few years is the Prince of Wales' Accounting for Sustainability (A4S) project. Through its partnership with this project CIMA is committed to supporting A4S's work in developing practical guidance and tools for building sustainability into decision-making and reporting processes. Indeed, CIMA member Dr Jeremy Osborn FCMA is currently working with the project on a pro bono secondment.

Sustainability is now embedded into the business lexicon, but there is still some way to go before organisations fully embrace the bottom-line value that can be drawn from a strategy that has sustainability at its core. New research by CIMA and global management consultants Accenture has found that there is still a significant gulf between intention and action.

In short, we need to underline the fact that building a business for the long term makes good business sense. Management accountants are the people who best understand how an organisation's business model works and are well placed to help boards achieve this goal.

Of the finance and sustainability professionals surveyed for our report, only 17 per cent have fully integrated environmental...

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