European countries lead way in sustainability

European companies ‘are ahead of the pack’ on sustainability, according to the latest annual Sustainability Yearbook published by KMPG and Sustainable Asset Management (SAM). Firms from Portugal, Spain and Italy are setting the bar for corporate sustainability, according to the research, which also rates most sustainable companies globally and names its current sector leaders. Among the latter were Adidas in clothing and footwear, PepsiCo in beverages, Roche in pharmaceuticals and Xstrata in mining. This year’s document also contains a section on the sustainability drivers in emerging economies, where the expansion of CSR is growing, according to the report. Overall, the research shows a global acceleration of sustainability efforts.