Business in the Community Ireland CEO Survey October 2012
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Transcript of Business in the Community Ireland CEO Survey October 2012
Responsible Ireland Survey CEO Attitudes to Responsible Business
October 2012
2
Research Approach
Research Methodology Overview
Telephone Survey August-September 2012
15-20 minute survey
100 Managing Directors/Chief Executives
Top 1000 Companies
3
Defining Corporate Responsibility
The term ‘corporate responsibility’ was defined in the
survey to describe the ethical, economic,
environmental, and social impacts and issues that
concern the private sector. There are many different
terms used to capture this concept, including
sustainability, corporate social responsibility, corporate
citizenship, ESG (environmental, social, and
governance), and others.
4
A Changing Landscape
Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Survey has been running for three years.
A number of key trends have emerged since 2010:
1. CR commitment has remained consistently strong
2. Measuring the impact of CR is increasingly important –
but still under-developed
3. CR continues to play a significant role in staff loyalty,
competitive performance and business success.
5
Dealing with impact of recession –
still a top priority for CEOs
Q. What are the key challenges facing your organisation in the coming year?
2%
5%
7%
8%
11%
11%
11%
21%
21%
24%
29%
32%
Regulations
Government spending/stability
Energy Costs
Labour Costs
Acquiring/keeping Talent
Lack of Credit or Capital
Weak Demand
Business Growth
Customer Loyalty
Competitive Pressures
Cost Pressures
Recession
The rank order of key
challenges has
remained broadly
unchanged since 2010.
The challenge of
accessing credit and/or
capital fell from 13% in
2010 to 5% in 2011
6 Q. How important is driving the corporate responsibility agenda in your organisation to you personally?
CEOs feel a personal dedication to having a
responsible business agenda
Not at all important,
0%
Somewhat unimportant
, 4% Neither/nor,
8%
Somewhat important,
44%
Extremely important,
44%
Q. How well embedded is CR across your organisation? Scale of 1-10
10 1 7.2
The CR agenda remains
important for the vast
majority of CEOs. The
degree to which CR is
embedded in
organisations rises from
6.8 of Irish-owned to 7.6
of foreign owned
businesses.
93% said CR agenda personally important in 2011
7
Most are prepared for legislative change
- but not all
Q. The EU is currently progressing legislation that would require non-financial reporting on social and environmental measures. Does your company currently report on these measures as part of its reporting cycle?
Yes, 58%
No, 36%
Don't know, 6%
Larger companies, and
those selling mostly
outside of Ireland, are
more advanced in terms
of reporting non-financial
measures.
27% of companies published a CR report in 2010
8
Title of Person Responsible for CR Agenda
Q. What is the title of the person or department primarily in charge of CR in your organisation?
6%
7%
8%
9%
9%
14%
16%
Spread across divisions
Financial director/dept
Marketing director/dept
Head of CR/CSR
Senior management team
CEO/MD
HR director/dept
9
Embedding CR: KPIs & Interactions
Q. Is your corporate responsibility strategy linked to staff or management KPIs?
Yes, 55% No, 40%
Don't know, 5%
Q. Which department interacts least with the CR agenda/strategy in your organisation?
Finance was singled
out at the department
that interacts least
with the CR strategy
by 18% of CEOs, but
the vast majority –
59% - said that all
departments were
equally engaged.
55% included CR in employee personal development in 2010
10
Main CR Initiatives
Q. What are the main corporate responsibility initiatives your organisation is undertaking right now?
69%
56%
47%
3%
Communityfocused
Workplacefocused
Environmentalfocused
Marketplacefocused
Foreign-owned
businesses are more
likely to have a
community and
environmental focus
in the CR initiatives,
while Irish-owned
businesses have a
relatively greater
workplace focus.
11
Main CR Motivations
Q. What would you say are the main motivations for these type of initiatives and strategies?
4%
6%
7%
12%
15%
18%
20%
36%
Reduce environmental impact
Respond to legislation
Engrained in company heritage
Giving something back
Company sustainability
Positive brand image
Improve working environment
Improve community links
Positive brand image
is more important to
Irish-owned
businesses, while
company heritage and
giving something
back are more
important for foreign-
owned businesses.
Employee well-being/working environment ranked 4th in 2011
12
Main CR Motivations
“Sustainable business in the long run, plus cost return element and our customer expectations.”
“We want to be seen as a socially responsible company and to be seen as more than a corporate entity.”
“The start of our vision is not to damage the
environment but to improve the environment where
we're involved.” “Were a local Irish based company and most of our
workforce are employed from the local community and we feel were giving something back to the local community.”
“To be a responsible business and to be seen as responsible, given we’re a high profile business, and secondly cost reductions.”
“To build trust and reputation, to reward loyal consumers and ensure the health of the environment we work in.”
13
Measuring CR Impact
Q. How do you measure the impact of your corporate responsibility practices?
20%
10%
2%
4%
8%
12%
12%
12%
15%
22%
Don't measure
Don't know
New business
Cost of activities
Audits and standards
KPI targets
Staff engagement/ turnover
Customer loyalty/ brand image
Annual reports
Feedback from 'beneficiaries'
7 in 10 CEOs felt it important to measure CR impact in 2010
14
CR’s Business Impact
Q. In your opinion, do your organisation’s CR activities give you a competitive advantage?
Q. Do you feel corporate responsibility has a positive impact on your bottom line?
Yes, 56%
No, 40%
Don't know, 4%
Competitive Advantage?
Yes, 71%
No, 20%
Don't know, 9%
Positive Impact?
15
Competitive Advantages
“Were often asked in prequalifying questionnaires for tenders if we operate sustainably and have disaster
pre-planning in place.”
“I think we would be seen as a good place to work for so, it helps us to attract the right people.”
“We can show other companies that we are
dealing with the controls and regulations that we have in
place to protect and enhance the company.”
“I would say being able to work with consumers on initiatives. It would give us an advantage indirectly
through enhanced feedback and therefore consumer preference.”
“If people want to work for the organisation it is because of our reputation due to our working practices . We offer excellent
training programmes and are a fair and reputable company to work for.”
16
Measurable Returns
4%
7%
9%
11%
13%
25%
34%
Improves profits/ turnover
Reduces costs
Better community relations
More business
Better customer relations
Getting/ keeping key staff
Improved brand image
Q. And how does this competitive advantage present itself? Base: those who gain advantage
Again, brand image is
a more important
measure for Irish-
owned businesses,
while foreign-owned
businesses are more
likely to focus on
employee recruitment
and retention.
17
Main Barriers to CR
Q. Overall, what do you consider to be the biggest barrier to corporate responsibility in your organisation?
26%
15% 13%
10% 8%
7% 5% 5%
4%
12%
Funding/costs
Time pressure Staffengagement
Internalunderstanding
Resources None Lack ofevidence
Otherpriorities
Economy Don't know
18
Main Barriers
“It's actually hard to answer that. I don't think we have any major barriers. Sometimes it's hard to deliver the work of good quality corporate
relationship with somebody else; resources I suppose.”
“I suppose just all the other pressures of running a business; the costs and all that. Just need to make sure we keep the Corporate
Responsibility on the agenda as well.”
“The current transformation and re-organisation, from our perspective the survival of the company is our main
priority rather than the contributing to the community.”
“The lack of time we have to commit to these procedures due to the cut down of staff. We have to prioritise what we
should take part in and what we don't.”
19
Ireland’s Business Reputation
Q. Do you think Ireland’s business reputation has improved in the past year? At home
Yes, 58% No, 30%
Don't know, 12%
At Home
Yes, 70%
No, 16%
Don't know, 14%
Abroad
Q. Do you think Ireland’s business reputation has improved in the past year? Abroad
Fewer than 1 in 4 rated Ireland’s business reputation as good in 2010
20
Conclusions
Despite four years of recession in Ireland, CEOs in our
survey are as committed as ever to the corporate
responsibility agenda.
Ultimately CR is their way of embedding long term thinking
in their organisations at a time of extraordinary short term
pressures and uncertainty.
The continuing high level of commitment to CR is a key
measure of the business community’s commitment to
Ireland’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing in
for the foreseeable future.
Thank you
21
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