Feb. 1, 2008 -- Twenty percent of U.K. companies have in place a dedicated head of sustainability or "green guru," according to a new survey from Genesys Conferencing. An additional 20% say that functional heads such as the chief technical officer (CTO), chief operating officer (COO), or their equivalents have responsibility for spearheading environmental change throughout the organization.

Despite these findings, however, the survey reveals some confusion as to who exactly is responsible for implementing green initiatives. Nearly half (45%) of respondents believe the chief executive (CEO) drives green initiatives within their business but, "this does not necessarily mean that environmental issues are being fully taken on board at the highest level within the business," according to Jerona Noonan, sales director at Genesys Conferencing. "Rather, it is the default position of those respondents who are unaware of who precisely is responsible at senior level."

When asked how strong the move to adopt green policies is within their organization the results appear to be split among the two extremes, with 33% of respondents saying "weak" or "very weak," and 31% saying "strong" or "very strong." The most important drivers for change remain cost efficiency (24%), regulatory compliance (23%), and consumer pressure (19%). Shareholder pressure, by contrast, is seen as most important by only 7%.