LONDON, England - Environmental Business Intelligence, a leading business consultancy within the environmental sector, announced today the results of the survey it carried out amongst the Directors and Senior Environmental Managers in the UK FTSE 350 companies in regards to the World Summit on Sustainable Development.

The Johannesburg Summit unfolded and finished in the midst of a great deal of controversy around. Whilst critics argued that the agreements lacked real and firm commitments, many analysts pointed out that the outcomes was the best that could have been realistically expected.

In order to contribute to this debate, Environmental Business Intelligence carried out an online, independent survey to find out what do the senior environmental managers in the top 350 companies of the UK think about the outcomes reached at the World Summit.

The main findings of the survey are:

· In terms of the outcome documents, half the survey participants considered that the Summit was neither successful, nor unsuccessful and 26% said that it was rather unsuccessful or very unsuccessful.

· In addition, the vast majority of the senior environmental managers considered that international binding targets and timetables on the use of renewable energy should have been agreed.

· Most environmental managers felt that the results of the Summit indicate a leadership void on the part of governments. With governments unwilling or unable to agree on targets or regulatory frameworks, two thirds of the survey participants agreed that this gap will only by filled by the business sector to a limited degree.

· The survey also revealed that the role that the business sector can play in sustainable development efforts has changed significantly over the last two decades. On average, the environmental managers placed a greater role to the business sector in delivering sustainable development than NGOs, education and scientific institutions and consumers.

· In terms of the framework that business requires in order to contribute to sustainable development for all, 60% of the survey pointed out that this requires a combination of improving local governance (which includes predictable, clear rules; absence of corruption, consistent enforcement, etc.) and strengthening global legislation to tackle issues such as climate change and international trade.

· The survey touched briefly on the issue of corporate accountability. Nearly 70% of the senior environmental managers agreed with the need for business to be accountable and transparent. In terms of the nature of these agreements, 51% mentioned that they should voluntary, but a significantly high 31% agreed that these should be compulsory.

· Finally, the senior environmental managers assessed the contribution of the World Summit to future sustainable development efforts. The survey results suggest that most environmental managers consider that the Summit will have a positive but limited contribution to future sustainable development efforts.

The full results of the survey can be found at www.ebintelligence.co.uk/WSSDsurveyresults.html

Notes to editors:

Environmental Business Intelligence is a business consultancy specialising in business information and market intelligence for environmental companies and organisations involved in this sector. Clients include 7 out of the 10 largest environmental consultancies in the UK as well as numerous small and medium environmental technology and service providers.

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