The FINANCIAL — Four in ten (37%) employees in 24 countries indicate it is ‘very important’ for their own employers to be ‘responsible to society and the environment’ This importance rises to 80% when it is combined with those employees who believe it is somewhat important (37% very/43% somewhat) their employer is responsible, according to Ipsos, an independent market research company.
Three in ten (29%) report ‘a high degree of social responsibility’ is very important when forming a purchase decision while about half (45%) view it as fairly important for a total of 74% who say it is important, according to Ipsos.
When asked to consider what the top two most important things a company must do to be respected, the top items among survey respondents were: ‘prioritize workplace safety’ (25% mark it as first priority), ‘contribute to the socioeconomic development of the countries where it operates’ (25%) and ‘respect and adhere to local laws and rights’ (24%).
Thinking about the organization they currently work for, four in ten (37%) of employed respondents in the survey report they find it very important that their ‘own employer is responsible to society and the environment’. Another four in ten (43%) find it fairly important, one in ten (12%) not very important and 3% not at all important. Just a few (4%) indicate they have no opinion on the matter, according to Ipsos.
On a country by country basis, Brazil (65%), Mexico (59%), Argentina (57%), Indonesia (55%) and India (51%) top the charts for proportions of employed respondents indicating it is very important their employer is responsible to society and the environment while Japan (11%), France (17%), China (19%) and South Korea (22%) have the lowest proportions of advocacy among employees, according to Ipsos.
‘When forming a decision about buying a product or service from a particular company or organization,’ it is very important for three in ten (29%) respondents that it shows ‘a high degree of social responsibility‘. This factor is fairly important for about half (45%) of global respondents, not very important for 17%, not at all important for 4% and evokes no opinion in 5%. Those in Indonesia (57%), Brazil (56%), Mexico (50%) and India (45%) are most likely to consider CSR important for their purchasing decisions while those in France (11%), Japan (13%), Belgium (15%) and Germany (15%) are least likely, according to Ipsos.
A majority strongly agree that ‘companies should do more to contribute to society‘ (52%) while three in ten (32%) tend to agree, and one in ten (12%) neither agree nor disagree. Only 2% tend to disagree while 1% strongly disagree and another 1% say they don’t know/no opinion. Similarly, a majority of those of those in 24 countries indicate they strongly agree ‘companies should pay more attention to the environment‘ (61%). Three in ten (28%) indicate they tend to agree, one in ten (8%) neither agree nor disagree, and hardly any (1%) say each of: tend to disagree, strongly disagree and don’t know/no opinion.
The top countries strongly agreeing companies should contribute more to society are Turkey (85%), Brazil (78%), Saudi Arabia (78%) and Mexico (76%), while the bottom four are Japan (22%), United States (33%), Great Britain (34%) and Australia (34%). The top countries strongly agreeing companies should pay more attention to the environment are Mexico (90%), Turkey (89%), Brazil (88%) and Argentina (84%) while those at the bottom of the list are again Japan (28%), Great Britain (36%), United States (40%) and Australia (41%), according to Ipsos.
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