CorporateResponsibility.Net

Companies who are socially and environmentally responsible can claim a major competitive advantage but they need to communicate their activities to Irish consumers, according to a new survey by Business in the Community Ireland.

The 2009 Survey of Consumer Attitudes in Ireland towards Corporate Responsibility was commissioned by Business in the Community Ireland in conjunction with Ipsos MORI and it is the third such survey in the past decade, with previous versions taking place in 2003 and 2006.

When forming a decision to buy a product or service, 8 out of 10 people in Ireland say that an organisation’s commitment to social and environmental responsibility is important. Yet almost eighty percent (80%) of consumers could not name one company which treat staff well, give good customer service and are mindful of its impact on the environment.

In addition, whilst ninety-two percent (92%) of consumers are taking individual actions to limit their own environment impacts, three out of four people (75%) could not name a company doing the same. Read more (BITCI)

Source: CSR Europe

It’s true, as GreenBiz.com executive editor Joel Makower wrote last month, that even during rough economic times like these, marketers’ surveys of consumers almost always report exceedingly optimistic returns of how likely shoppers are to choose green products.

Whether or not that assessment is true, three new reports out in recent days certainly continue the trend: reports from Forrester Research, the Carbon Trust Standard and IRI find anywhere from 15 to 62 percent of shoppers in the U.S. and U.K. take environmental considerations to heart before they purchase a product or service. Read more

Source: GreenBiz.com

By Chris Milton

The Carbon Disclosure Project was launched in 2000.  It works on behalf of the largest global institutional investors to uncover and track greenhouse gas emissions from the largest global corporations. However, the launch materials for this year’s survey held some unexpected figures which show just how far these investment houses have come .. and how far they have to go.
There are ghost trains out there … I’ve seen them.  Full of spectral commuters, their skeletal mouths forever open in a ghostly wail as they are doomed to travel the British network without end. This is what a Government Minister once claimed in any case.  He said that only 90% of the UK’s trains reach an eventual destination.  Which means there’s a whole bundle of them out there, lost forever.
Not really.  But it’s always worth remembering that the statistics sword cuts both ways.
For example to mark the launch of its 2009 survey, the 2009 Carbon Disclosure Project issued a press release trumpeting the results of a survey it had conducted among its signatory institutional investors.
The headline figures were:

• 75% of the respondents factor climate change into their investment decisions (presumably as a risk) of which
• 80% consider climate change to be a relatively important impact to their portfolio

Sounds good, but there’s a flip side to these figures:

• 25% of institutional investors don’t believe climate change is a risk
• 40% of institutional investors don’t believe it’s a problem for their portfolio

Wow.  It’s really great that the majority of institutional investors appear to have a good grasp of climate change and the effect it can have on their investments. But if the CDP represents $55tr of managed assets, this means up to $22tr still isn’t being invested in companies which are contributing to solutions to climate change.
So there’s a fantastic opportunity out there for asset management companies to differentiate themselves and their products from one another on the grounds of sustainability. Say it loud and clear: if you are a sustainability sensitive investment house you can get more trade by pointing out that your competitors are not.  Surely that’s a good thing?
So come on .. let’s see a little competition!

Bio: A former CTO, Chris has a broad and varied background. He’s been involved with blue chips, consultancies & SMEs across a wide variety of sectors and has worked in Europe, the Middle East and Australia. In 2007 he decided to combine his knowledge of business and IT with his passion for all things sustainable and has been busy writing ever since. However, his greatest ambition remains to brew the perfect cup of coffee.

Corporations are making cutbacks across the board— except with their sustainability programs.

A survey recently published by Panel Intelligence, LLC, shows that 80 percent of North American corporate sustainability executives plan to maintain or increase “green” spending in 2009 despite the recent economic downturn.

The survey also reports that corporate clean technology spending will increase by 73 percent through 2010. Over two thirds of survey respondents believe energy efficiency is the most important area to invest in.  Read more

Source: GreenBiz

Consumers in both developed and emerging economies want to see governments – and by extension, businesses – end the deadlock of climate change negotiations and sign up to carbon emission reduction targets, according to a global survey of 12,000 people.

Carried out by a coalition of NGOs brought together by HSBC, the survey polled 1,000 people in 12 of the world’s most polluting nations – Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, Mexico, UK and the US – all of which will be key players at the forthcoming UN climate change talks in Poznan, Poland.

More than three quarters of respondents said they want their government to agree to cut carbon emissions, either to the same level as all other countries or to a level below that of other countries so that developing nations can continue to grow their emissions. Read more

Source: Business Green

A major new survey from the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) suggests the vast majority of US business leaders now accept there is a clear correlation between CSR performance and financial performance.

Drawing a clear link between strong environmental and CSR performance and increased sales and profitability has long been a vexed topic for many CSR professionals who have struggled to put a financial value on related benefits such as improved brand power and staff morale.

However, according to a survey of more than 550 senior US executives carried out by the (EIU), 74 per cent now accept the argument that responsible corporate citizenship, including strong environmental policies, can help increase profits at their firm. Read more

Source: Business Green

Green IT systems have moved past the stage of marketing hype and are a genuine business imperative for many firms, according to a major new European survey which found that almost half of large UK IT departments now have a green IT strategy in place.

The survey of more than 450 Western European firms, each boasting more than 1,000 staff and at least one datacentre, was carried out by analyst firm IDC and found that IT departments in the UK and Germany had the most progressive attitude to addressing environmental issues with 46 per cent and 51 per cent respectively already claiming to have a green IT strategy in place.

The survey also revealed few signs that the trend is slowing down, with a further quarter of the 74 UK firms polled claiming they plan to implement a green IT strategy in the next two years. Read more

Source: Business Green

The drive to sustainability is having a broad effect on consumers, with three in four defining themselves as “green,” according to a new survey by Yahoo!.

The survey found that the green market has grown far beyond its roots as a niche, with 77 percent of consumers identifying themselves as “green.” Over half (57 percent) said they made a green purchase decision in the past six months.

Yahoo! commissioned the survey, which polled 1,500 people ages 18-54 in person in Los Angeles, Chicago and Portland, Ore. Respondents were recruited online.

Read more

Source: Brand Week

The economic downturn could soon force companies selling green products and service to shift their marketing focus from highlighting environmental benefits to touting the energy and cost savings they can deliver.

According to a major new survey of over 2,000 British adults the looming recession looks set to undermine some environmental commitments, while simultaneously encouraging mroe people to curb energy and transport use.

The survey from green advisory website and search engine, Click4Carbon.com, which makes a contribution to offsetting schemes for every search users carry out, found that only 13 per cent of consuemers were happy to pay directly to offset their carbon emissions, while a fifth had still not undertaken even simple measures to cut their environmental impact such as using energy efficient lightbulbs. Read more

Source: Business Green

The number of large multinational firms releasing corporate responsibility data either in stand alone reports, or as part of their annual financial reports has increased significantly in the last three years, according to a new survey from accountancy giant KPMG.

The study found that 80 per cent of Global Fortune 250 companies now release corporate responsibility data, covering issues such as climate change strategy, environmental policies and employee and stakeholder relations, up from 50 per cent just three years ago.

Speaking to BusinessGreen.com, Lynton Richmond, head of sustainability assurance at KPMG in the UK, said that the survey confirmed that both the quantity and quality of corporate responsibility reporting was increasing. Read more

Source: Business Green