Author
Business in the Community Ireland
Date
May 2009
Region/Country
Ireland
Description
A new report by Business and the Community Ireland suggests that companies which are socially and environmentally responsible can claim a major competitive advantage – but they need to communicate their activities to consumers.
The 2009 Survey of Consumer Attitudes in Ireland towards Corporate Responsibility 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.
Key findings
- However, 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.
- 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.
- 72% of respondents named supermarkets as their most favoured industry. While maintaining its lead position since 2006, it has dropped by ten percentage points overall.
- The least favoured sectors are banks and building societies (43%), railway and bus companies (42%) and the construction industry (31%).
- When making a judgement about an organisation, the factors considered most important to the public are customer service (81%), being honest & open (69%) and product quality (66%).
- Environmental practices and impact were only considered important by 33% of respondents, although this was an increase of 3% from 2006.
- The most frequently-cited reason for actively choosing not to purchase from a particular company was poor customer service.
More information
Tags: Business, Community, competitive, consumers, corporate responsibility, Environmental, ireland
