Good News for CSR & Renewables in Recent Surveys

When 45 corporate social responsibility (CSR) thought leaders from around the world were asked how they think CSR will evolve in the future, the majority agreed that 5 – 10 years from now it will be increasingly integrated into business practices, if it not in the public consciousness. CSR management systems will be more standardized and routine within 10 years. Codes and standards will be established by then. CSR concepts will be easier to adopt.

Opinion leaders agree that the increasing importance and influence of stakeholders will be a top trend. Companies will move from identifying and managing stakeholders to collaborating with them. Some thought leaders see companies including stakeholders on design teams to design products with enhanced environmental and social properties.

Highlights of the survey include:

* people that make purchasing decisions based on their values will remain a small (5-10% of the population) but slightly more powerful group. “This vigilante consumer will be high income with increasing influence in the marketplace.”

* NGOs will be increasingly sophisticated, well-organized and work together on common campaigns. There will be more watch dog groups around the world.

* increasing numbers of employees will be concerned about employer values. Companies with a good CSR track record will have access to the best and brightest, while those with poor track records will have increasing difficulty attracting and keeping talented staff.

* shareholder action campaigns will be an increasingly effective and common tool to drive corporations toward CSR. Negative screening (screening out companies with poor practices) will wane as a major social investment tool. Institutional investors will take a longer term view toward performance and take a stewardship approach to their investments.

* large companies will drive CSR through their supply chain, thereby putting CSR on the radar screen of small business.

* the key CSR issues on the environment side will be climate change, water quality and supply/access to water. On the social side, poverty and access to necessities, governance, accountability, transparency and integrity – will be top issues.

The study, The Future of Corporate Responsibility, was commissioned by Van City Credit Union. For a copy, contact Coro Strandberg, Strandberg Consulting.

—–

On the consumer side, Environics’ fourth annual CSR Monitor survey of 21,000 individuals worldwide concluded that although people have increasingly high expectations of CSR performance, they still can’t name a socially responsible company.

There is near consensus that companies need to go beyond cause marketing (donating to NGOs) and integrate CSR into operations. Respondents show strong interest in learning about company CSR initiatives.

For the first time in four years of polling, individuals in developing countries are waking up to CSR and demanding more from companies in social and environmental areas.

Recent corporate scandals in the U.S., have lowered expectations that companies are integrating CSR. The opposite is true in Japan, where consumer attitudes and behaviors are finally moving toward high North American and European levels.

—-

85% of Americans say they would be willing to try hydrogen-based fuel for their vehicles, according to a Harris poll commissioned by Millennium Cell and U.S. Borax Inc. They rate safety (83%) as the most important issue in accepting alternative fuels. The second most important issue is cost (78%), although 44% say they would be willing to pay at least twice as much as they pay now for gasoline:).

Other factors are:
– how far you can drive before refueling (75%)
– cost of the vehicle (72%)
– convenience of refueling (67%)
– emissions (67%)
– whether the fuel source is domestic instead of foreign (47%)
– passenger and cargo space (47%)

The majority of respondents believe federal or state government should subsidize or pay for part of hydrogen-based fuel technology. They overwhelmingly prefer their tax dollars subsidize domestic sources of energy. 46% think the federal government subsidizes or pays for part of our current system of fossil fuels.

In another recent survey, American Opinions on Global Warming, 71% of respondents – 82% of Democrats and 58% of Republicans – support transferring federal subsidies from the fossil fuel industry to renewable energies.

88% support the Kyoto Protocol. 77% believe C02 should be regulated as a pollutant and want the U.S. to reduce greenhouse gas emissions regardless of what other countries do. 54% favor a tax on gas guzzlers, but 78% oppose a gasoline tax.

Finally, a Newspoll commissioned by Greenpeace finds that 83% of Australians are willing to pay $3.50 extra per month for their household’s energy to come from renewable sources. When asked if they would pay $5.50 more a month, 64% said yes. Estimates indicate that individuals will need to pay $0.50 to $5.00 more monthly to increase the share of renewables to 10%. A 10% target would create thousands of jobs and draw billions of dollars in investment to Australia, says Greenpeace.

++++