Sept. 17, 2008 - Eighty-seven percent of investor relations (IR) professionals say they believe companies can improve long-term shareholder value through better carbon management, a new survey finds.

The study, conducted by Verizon Business and IR magazine, also found that investor relations professionals are increasingly interested in new communications technologies that can help reduce their company's energy use and overall carbon footprint.

Other key findings include:

• Sixty percent of the respondents say CSR concerns affected their decision to use technology to achieve business efficiencies.
• Seventy-one percent are already using audio/video and web conferencing technologies to communicate with stakeholders.
• Forty-five percent say that shareholders are increasingly engaged in overall CSR policy, 43% already include carbon-reduction measures as a key part of overall CSR policies.

"This study shows the increasing weight that investor relations professionals are giving to climate change issues," says Roberta Mackintosh, executive director at Verizon Business. "It also suggests that using collaborative technologies as part of an overall carbon management strategy...makes good business sense."

Recent headlines support the study's findings. For example, the current economic downturn has led to an uptick in IT tools such as videoconferencing as businesses seek alternative to costly business travel.

And the IT industry appears to be answering the call. Earlier this month, the International Telecommunication Union set up a new task force to study the impact of information and communication technology on climate change.

For an overview of the IR magazine study, click here (PDF).