A 2010 study by Gartner, in collaboration with TRIRIGA, Inc. (acquired by IBM in April 2011), surveyed 130 professionals responsible for the planning and implementation of sustainability initiatives at large corporations and public sector organizations focused primarily on greener, more energy-efficient buildings. IBM completed a thorough analysis of these survey results and found that although most large organizations measure energy and environmental performance, barely a third have ‘crossed the sustainability chasm’ and actually achieved their sustainability objectives. The sustainability chasm refers to the gap found between two distinct groups of organizations seeking to achieve their sustainability goals—the first, a group who were quick to understand the environmental and economic benefits of sustainability and achieved their goals through the implementation of energy and environmental programmes, and the second, a mainstream group that is attempting to move beyond the measurement of environmental performance and evaluation of opportunities to achieve their sustainability goals.
