Corporate Social ResponsibilityIs it important? What’s the impact?
Corporate Social ResponsibilityIs it important? What’s the impact?
Presented by:Charlotte Hines
‘The Triple Bottom Line’Communications Directors Forum
15 June 2001
Images in Perspective
Attitudes to Large Companies
Industries
Companies
Detailsof ImageProfile
Source: MORI
A Tentative Model of Corporate Reputation
Overall Corp. Rep.
Financial stability/profitability
Management
Products &services
Customersatisfaction
Social/environmentalresponsibility
Treatment ofstaff
Source: MORI
But the future seems to be. .
Overall Corp. Rep.
Responsible BusinessPolicy, Practice & Behaviour
=
Source: MORI
The Components of Corporate Responsibility
Environment
EthicalConsumerism
Social Reporting Treatment
of customers
SociallyResponsibleInvestment
Cause RelatedMarketing
Treatment ofemployees
CommunityInvolvement
TRUSTWORTHYCORPORATE
CITIZEN
Environment
Source: MORI
4%
4%
5%
7%
11%
17%
20%
What do the public think CSR is?Q Could you tell me, in your own words what you think is meant by the term
corporate social responsibility?
Base: 2,099 GB adults, October 2000
Responsibility towards customers
Responsibility towards local community
Responsibility towards the environment
Acting responsibility/ethically
Responsibility towards employees
Being profitable/successful
Responsibility towards theirshareholders
Source: MORI
It’s not just policies. . .
Recognition that companies must make a profit. . . but not at expense of good employee and customer practices
BusinessPractices
InvestmentPolicies
“Walk the Talk”&
Set an Example
Exclude negative behaviours&
Support positive behavioursSource: MORI
Companies’ reputations and their licence to operatearound the world depends on meeting these widerresponsibilities while competing effectively
And Government Recognition. . .1999: ‘A New Vision for Business’
October 2000: SDC set up, reporting to Government
February 2000: First new CSR Minister in Britain
Source: MORI
Stakeholders’ Expectations
Criteria for Judging CompaniesQ What are the most important factors you take into account when making a
judgement about a company?
Treatment of staff
Quality of management
Financial performance
Quality of products/services
Customer service
Environmentalresponsibility
GeneralPublic
%
21
12
15
25
20
4
2Social responsibility
BusinessPress
%
38
56
21
9
12
CityInvestors
33
90
66%
16
11
11
88
94
94
MPsLab%
53
38
25
33
70
Con%
33
32
53
14
1934
40 17
56
Base: 1999/2000 Source: MORI
Changing PrioritiesQ What are the most important factors you take into account
when making a judgement about a company?
18%
43%
MPs 1995Financial performance
Environmental responsibility
34%
24%
MPs 2000Financial performance
Environmental responsibility
Source: MORI
67%
50%
63%66%
80% 80%
Q. How important, if at all, are each of the following in helping youto assess a company?
% saying fairly or very important
Influences on Company Assessment
Base: All respondents (93 analysts, 50 investors, 30 journalists, 30 IRMs)
34% 33%
53%
38% 40%
54%
Social Policy Environ. Policy Integrated Vision
AnalystsInvestors
JournalistsIRMs
Source: MORI
. . And now more importantQ “Companies’ social and ethical performance are more important to
me now, given the forthcoming changes to pension fund disclosure”?
56%37%
7%
Base: Investors (104), June 2000
InvestorsDon’t know
AgreeDisagree
Source: MORI
34%
40%
56%
A Global Agenda
Base: 25,000 adults in 23 countries, May 1999
Responsibility (employeetreatment, communitycommitment, ethics,environment)
Q What are the things that matter most to you in forming animpression of a particular company?
Product/brandquality
Business/financialperformance
Source: MORI
41%
28%
44%
49%
The Importance of Social ResponsibilityQ When forming a decision about a product or service from
a particular company or organisation, how important is itto you that it shows a high degree of socialresponsibility?
Fairly importantVery Important
Base: British adults (c. 1,000)
1998
2000
Source: MORI
11%
40%
22%
4%
22%
Consumers feel empowered
Neither/no opinion Strongly agree
Base: 1,970 GB adults, May 2000
Q How strongly do you agree with this statement: ‘as a consumer I canmake a difference to how responsibly a company behaves’?
Tend to agree
Strongly disagree
Tend to disagree
Source: MORI
The Five Clusters
‘Look after my own’‘Look after my own’22%22%
‘Brand Generation’6%
‘Global Watchdogs’‘Global Watchdogs’5%5%
‘Do what I can’49%
‘Conscientious ‘Conscientious Consumers’Consumers’
18%18%
Source: MORI/ The Co-operative Bank - October 2000.
39%
36%
12%
6%7%
Social Responsible Investment
No opinion
A great deal
Base: 1,000 GB adults. 8-13 June 2000
Q To what extent would you like to see the trustees of your scheme usetheir voting rights to put pressure on the companies in which theyinvest, to improve their social, environmental or ethical performance?
A fair amount
Not at all
A little
Source: MORI
SME Expectations Over 5 Years
6%5%
5%
46%
38%
Neither/no opinionStrongly agree
Base: All SME’s (2000) Jan-Feb 2000
“Social responsibility will become increasingly importantto businesses such as mine, over the next five years”
Tend to agree
Strongly disagreeTend to disagree
Source: MORI
How can we encourage SMEs?■ Currently, SMEs:
– support the case for involvement– understand the business and social impact– need further assistance to aid involvement
■ Future involvement can be encouraged by:– Promotion of benefits to their business– Assistance in developing cost-effective approaches– Establish a kitemark or symbol– Promote CSR vs CCI– Demonstrate how to get involved
Source: MORI research conducted for BiTC Impact on Society taskforce, conducted among 200 MDs of SMEs in Britain - February 2000
"Industry and commerce do not pay enough attention to their socialresponsibilities"
Base: 1999/2000
70% 7%General Public
80% 6%CSR Activists
DisagreeAgree
8% 70%Conservative MPs
79% 7%Labour MPs
41% 15%Business Journalists
36% 33%Investors
37% 40%Analysts
Q
Business not perceived to be doing enough
Source: MORI
Impact of CSR on Reputation
Base: General Public (960), Jan-Feb 1998
Drivers of Favourability
73%Awareness of specific initatives
44%
42%
38%
39%
47%
37%
48%
43%All General Public
Full-time workersNot workingMenWomen
Lived in area less than 5 years
5-10 years
10+ years
Source: MORI
Impact on Employees
40%
10%
51%
15%
60%
22%
Q Which of the following statements comes closest to youropinion of your company as an employer?
I would speak highly of them without being asked
I would speak highly of them if asked
23%19%
13%I would be critical of them (spontaneous andprompted)
Involved Aware/not involved Not aware
Base: Involved (781), Aware/not involved (1,036), Not aware (392). March-May 2000
Source: MORI
Impact willdepend onalignment
withexpectations
Source: MORI
Reputation Dimensions! Question 1
– How important is CSR (& each element) against otherfactors?
! Question 2– How is your company rated on each criteria?
! Question 3– How does this compare with competitors in each
country?
! Question 4– How do perceptions match expectations?
Source: MORI
Perceptions vs. Expectations of Key Issues
-1.15
-0.75
-0.35
0.05
0.45
0.85
1.25
2.6 2.8 3.0 3.2 3.4 3.6Importance
Perceived CompanyPerformance
High importance,
Low performance
High importance,
High performance
Low importance,
High performance
Low importance,
Low performance
CRITICAL IMPROVEMENT AREAS
Source: MORI
Perceived Priorities
European Priorities for companies
Base: All ‘European’ public (12,162) across 11 countries.Source: MORI/CSR Europe September 2000
Q Looking at this card, please could you tell me which areas you feelare important that companies contribute to or support?
Ensuring operations respect human rightsProviding secure jobs to employees
Protecting in health and safety of its workers 77%72%
70%
Helping solve social problems
Ensuring products don’t harm environment
Supporting charities and community projects
Investing in education and training
Treating all employees fairly
Ensuring no participation in bribery
Listening/ responding to public
Social responsible investment
68%68%
59%58%
49%43%
41%41%
3%
37%40%41%
45%45%45%47%49%49%
53%56%
59%62%
British public priorities for companies
Base: 2,077 GB adults 15+. Source: MORI Annual CSR Study, 2000
Education
Q Which areas do you feel it is extremely important that largecompanies contribute to or support?
Protecting the environmentHelp people with disabilitiesRecyclingCrime prevention
Unemployment schemesHelp for the elderly
Protection of the countryside
Research for incurable diseasesRegeneration
Job creation
Road safety/safe drivingWork experience/placements
BUT:Priorities differby industry
Local, National or International Support
Base: GB adults
010203040506070
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000
Local National International
Q Which types of company involvement in society and the communitydo you most like to see: support of local based projects, national (ieBritish) projects, or international projects?
64%
25%
8%
Source: MORI
6%8%
66%
20%
Business should talk
Companies shouldmake an effort totell us but shouldnot spendsignificantamounts
Q Which of these statements best describes your view of the balancebetween programmes and communications?
It’s important to knowabout companies’programmes, they shouldspend significant amountsto tell us
Not important to know, nomoney should be spent oncommunications
Base: 1,046 GB adults aged 15+, July 2000
Don’t know
86% want to know about companies
activities
Source: MORI
Communication
■ All MORI research in this area shows that:
■ Awareness of responsible practices & involvement is low
■ People expect to know - especially employees & shareholders
Perceptions Reality
Inform & Communicate
What Makes Outstanding Press Relations?Q In your opinion, what makes for outstanding press relations?
Top answersAvailability ofmanagement
23%
33%
35%
35%
45%
48%
48%
Base: All Business & Financial Journalists (31), Winter 1999
Speedy responsesOpenness
Availability/accessibilityUnderstanding of individualpress requirementsHonestyKnowledge ofcompany/market
Source: MORI
Mostuseful
69%
72%
72%
72%
88%
6%
3%
3%
31%
16%
Single mostuseful
0%
0%
Sources of InformationQ Which of these sources of information are most useful to you in your work?Q Which of them would you rate as the single most useful?
Telephone conversations(company officials)Personal interviewsNews agencies (e.g. Reuters)
Press releases
Websites
Public relations agencies
Company PROs 63%
69%
Base: All Business & Financial Journalists (32), Summer 2000Source: MORI
63%
20%
28%
32%45%
63%
54%
45%
Current Quality of Company Information
Base: All respondents (93 analysts, 50 investors, 30 journalists, 30 IRMs)
Analysts
Poor
InstitutionalInvestors
BusinessJournalists
Investor RelationsManagers
Good
Q How would you rate the quality of information provided by companieson environmental, social and sustainability performance?
Source: MORI
IRMsLack of established environmental
performance indicatorsPoor internal social reporting
systems in companiesUncertainty on social issues
Barriers to Quality Information ProvisionQ. Which, if any, of the following factors do you consider as serious barriers tothe provision of high quality information on environmental & socialperformance? Prompted. Top answers
AnalystsLack of established environmental
performance indicatorsLack of established social
performance indicators
InvestorsLack of established environmental
performance indicatorsAttitude of investors
Uncertainty on environ. issues
JournalistsAttitude of investors
Lack of established environmentalperformance indicators
Source: MORI
Social Reporting - What do stakeholders want?■ Clear overview of policies
Ethical, Environmental & Social
■ How that translates into practices Countries & Stakeholders
■ Honesty & openness What has/ hasn’t been achieved?
■ Measurement & benchmarks
■ Case studies showing impact (not just investment)
■ Executive SummarySource: MORI
Conclusions
Implications
■ Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainable developmentare the umbrellas of ethical behaviour
■ Being 'socially responsible' and getting involved matters to allstakeholders
■ . . it impacts on corporate reputation and the bottom line
■ And if you incorporate CSR into mainstream businesspractice - it is your corporate reputation
■ Communicate - it does affect their opinion of your company
Source: MORI
Crucial for future success. . .
Pot of Goodwill
Source: MORI
THANK YOU