To help CSR Directors select suitable partners to support their climate change, sustainability and environmental goals a new report from independent research firm Verdantix compares 12 environmental NGOs on 35 criteria. The report finds that WWF and Forum For The Future lead the UK market and 10 NGOs, including Business In The Community, the Carbon Disclosure Project, The Climate Group and Oxfam offer specialised services which differentiate their value.

"Environmental NGOs provide a wide range of advisory, thought leadership, partnering and brand-credibility services to UK corporates" commented Verdantix Director Rodolphe d'Arjuzon. "The realisation by CSR Directors that they needed to take action on climate change resulted in an influx of new NGOs into the UK market, but there is intense competition to get the attention of sustainability leaders. As a result, successful NGOs have developed either a remarkable issue-based focus or specialist expertise and stakeholder networks. For example, Green Alliance has a strong position in shaping environmental policy decisions and the Forest Stewardship Council achieves incredible leverage over business decisions with its product certification scheme."

The Verdantix report, Green Quadrant: Environmental NGOs UK, launched today, applies the proprietary Green Quadrant methodology that helps sustainability decision-makers to compare and shortlist potential suppliers. The 3 month study included 30 interviews with FTSE 100 CSR Directors and in-depth discussions with 12 senior managers at NGOs. The analysis compares NGOs such as Fauna and Flora International, Tomorrow's Company and The Earthwatch Institute on their capabilities to provide CSR Directors with services that help them achieve their environmental business goals. The study found that:

WWF is a Leader due to the breadth of its capabilities and resources. The 250 employees of WWF UK score highly on thought leadership, communication and awareness building, advisory services, partnerships and investment in sustainability projects outside the UK. By working with firms on a selective basis it maintains strong brand credibility - which is highly valuable for CSR Directors at firms with consumers brands like HSBC, IKEA, Marks & Spencer and SABMiller.

Forum For The Future is a Leader due to its consulting prowess. This London-based charity is distinguished by its strong business alignment, reflected in its customer base: BP, BT, Eurostar, PepsiCo and Unilever. The 70-strong staff at Forum For The Future, which was founded in 1996, help businesses plan for the future by envisioning scenarios and promoting innovation to address strategic issues like climate change.

Issue-specific specialists offer valuable niche expertise. The detailed assessment of 10 other NGOs found each occupies a specialist domain. For carbon management advice CSR Directors turn to the Carbon Disclosure Project, for forestry issues the FSC, for policy advice the Green Alliance, for best practice sharing Tomorrow's Company and for bio-diversity Fauna & Flora International.

"Our survey of 30 CSR Directors in FTSE 100 firms found that the environmental agenda has progressed beyond climate change awareness building" continued Rodolphe d'Arjuzon, author of the report. "What are the NGO growth areas for 2010? We heard that running a sustainable business, water management and climate change adaptation top the list. Fifty per cent more CSR directors plan to work with an NGO on water scarcity in 2010 compared to 2009. And 57% of respondents intend to launch NGO-related activities on climate change adaptation in 2010 compared to just 40% in 2009."

Quashing the hopes of Board room influence, very few FTSE 100 CSR Directors, speaking on an anonymous basis, consider NGO engagements achieve deeper CEO engagement on environmental issues. The consensus is that the primary business benefit from working with NGOs is their ability to validate and challenge sustainability strategies which reflects the perception that environmental NGOs are an independent, external stakeholder in the successful delivery of climate change and sustainability strategies.

The Verdantix report, Green Quadrant: Environmental NGOs UK, launched today is available to buy online and Verdantix clients can download the report at www.verdantix.com.

About Verdantix
Verdantix is an independent business research firm focused on climate change, sustainable business and energy management. Visit: www.verdantix.com

Verdantix

Verdantix

Verdantix is an independent analyst research firm. We help senior executives and change leaders with our unique strategic and commercial analysis of climate change, sustainability and energy issues. Our clients are managers, advisers and entrepreneurs in blue-chip corporates, services firms, new ventures and government agencies.

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