The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the Economic Policy Institute released a report this week claiming that income inequality in America has become drastically worse over the past thirty years. Yet GlobeScan’s most recent opinion polling shows that not only are Americans relaxed about society’s wealthiest, they do not perceive inequality to be a major problem. The matrix presented here shows how views towards inequality and personal wealth compare in countries around the world. Those shown nearer the … “China and India share relaxed Anglo-Saxon attitudes towards wealth”
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Keep up to date with our latest news, webinars, and reports.
27 November 2012 – On the eve of the holiday shopping season, a new study by The Regeneration Roadmap – a joint project by GlobeScan, SustainAbility, and BBMG – finds that consumers are rethinking consumption with sustainability in mind. According to The Regeneration Consumer Study, two-thirds of consumers in six countries say that “as a society, we need to consume a lot less to improve the environment for future generations” (66%), and that they feel “a sense of responsibility to purchase products that are good for the environment … “New Study Finds Consumers Buying Less and Buying Better”
Report and findings from WaterAid’s survey of women in Nigeria relating to access to sanitation and levels of concern around violence and intimidation towards women in this context.
With figures released this week indicating that the Eurozone has tipped back into recession, companies across the continent are desperately seeking to maintain their market share and revenues, even as household budgets slide. In August, Unilever’s head of European operations, Jan Zijderveld said “poverty is returning to Europe” and that companies were going to have to learn to adjust to that reality. GlobeScan’s most recent public attitudes tracking certainly shows that, while economic concern may have retreated from its 2008 … “Opportunity among the bleak times for business in Europe?”
When German Chancellor Angela Merkel travelled to Britain this week, she brought a plea for greater British engagement with Europe. Since Prime Minister David Cameron vetoed moves towards a new European treaty last December, the Eurozone has agreed greater steps toward political and economic union as it battles to save its currency, even as British parliamentarians have called for a reduction in the EU’s budget—illustrating the increasingly Euroskeptic tone of political discourse in the UK. In such an environment, commentators … “Brixit—Is Britain a Mid-Atlantic Island, or a Part of Europe?”
This article originally appeared on GreenBiz.com 5 November 2012 – Trust is a valued but elusive resource, especially when applied to business. Trust in business is seen as both a driver of corporate sustainability efforts and a hoped-for outcome of any sensible corporate sustainability strategy. New data from the 2012 BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll offers insights into strategies for enhancing trust in companies. GlobeScan has been working with BSR for the past four years on an annual quantitative survey of BSR member … “What Your Business Needs To Do To Overcome Public Distrust”
As Hurricane Sandy slammed into the eastern seaboard of North America, the US presidential contest was entering its home stretch. The material damage caused cannot be denied, but analysts have also occupied themselves with two further questions: most immediately, how might Sandy affect the election and, more widely, does the explanation for Sandy’s unusual strength lie in climate change? Looking back at trends in GlobeScan’s public opinion polling after Katrina provides us with some interesting reflections on both of these … “Sandy: In the shadow of Katrina”
Despite the recent strong signs that boom years may be coming to an end, the past two decades have seen unprecedented economic growth in many nations in the developing world. Previous GlobeScan polling has seen this reflected in generally higher levels of economic optimism among citizens, greater trust in institutions, and a much more upbeat assessment of the performance of the corporate world. It is something of a surprise therefore that GlobeScan’s most recent global polling also shows that people … “More than two in three globally believe humanity faces its greatest ever crisis, as economic fears abound”
Sustainability seems to have been largely absent from the conversation in the 2012 US Presidential campaign. Apart from a couple of fleeting moments when the spotlight has fallen on the issue—an argument between the candidates over energy policy in the second debate, and a joke about the President promising to stem the tide of the rising oceans by Mitt Romney in his convention speech—the American public could be forgiven for thinking that neither candidate cares much about sustainability issues. However, … “President Obama Viewed as the Candidate Most Likely to Fast-Forward Sustainability”
[jumplinks] Download the Full Release (PDF) 22 October 2012 – A new 21-nation poll for BBC World Service indicates that citizens around the world would strongly prefer to see Barack Obama re-elected as US President rather than his Republican challenger Mitt Romney. The poll of 21,797 people, conducted by GlobeScan/PIPA between July 3 and September 3, 2012, indicates that Obama is preferred to Romney in 20 of the 21 countries polled. Overall, an average of 50 per cent would prefer … “Global Poll: Obama Overwhelmingly Preferred to Romney”
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Full Report of the BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2012, released at the BSR Conference 2012
‘State of Sustainable Business’ Research Reveals Strong Focus on Human Rights, Climate Change Download the Full Report (PDF) San Francisco, 18 October 2012 – Results from the fourth annual “BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2012,” released today, outline the progress global business has made on 14 key sustainability challenges over the past 20 years, the areas where business is likely to make the most progress over the next 20 years, and key priorities for the year ahead—including human rights and … “New Poll of Business Leaders Highlights Sustainability Priorities for Global Companies”
Published by The Financial Times on October 17th, 2012, this letter was written by GlobeScan Chairman and CEO, Doug Miller, in response to an October 11th, 2012 article entitled “Companies are facing a new type of opponent” Sir, Michael Skapinker’s article “Companies are facing a new type of opponent” (October 11) builds very well on Simon Zadek’s keen observation that conflict today stems increasingly from the gulf between rich and poor within countries. Mr. Skapinker goes on to argue quite effectively that … “Companies Must Find Their Inner Societal Purpose”
In a slowing global economy, many nations are aiming to out-compete their rivals and offer a more attractive environment for global companies to operate in. But GlobeScan’s most recent tracking illustrates that there may be cultural factors for countries to contend with. Citizens sometimes perceive national and global companies in a different light. Trust in global and national business is certainly correlated—if a country’s citizens trust global businesses, they are also likely to trust its own national companies. However, in … “Global vs National Business: Interpreting the Gap in Trust”
This article by Sam Mountford originally appeared on GreenBiz.com October 3rd, 2012, as part of our Proof Points blog series 3 October 2012 – As I sit here writing this article, it has started raining again here in London. No surprises there, you might think. But even by soggy British standards, this summer has been extreme — the wettest for a century, meteorologists say. Communities in the north of England are under several feet of water, for the second time in less than … “Is Business our Last Great Hope on Climate Change?”
Twenty years after the collapse of the USSR, Russia continues to present a difficult business environment, with an economy dominated by an elite circle close to the seat of political power. For foreign companies, navigating the nuances of the Russian system can prove particularly challenging, and GlobeScan’s latest polling demonstrates a large degree of social alienation, which could make conditions for foreign investment yet more difficult. In 2012, more Russians feel that economic wellbeing has improved over the past 20 … “Russia: Disenfranchisement, distrust—and opportunity”
Even though many commentators have suggested that China’s slowing economy poses risks to its political and social stability, GlobeScan’s polling shows that the Chinese public retains a much higher level of trust in their national government than they do in other social institutions. The degree to which the public trusts different institutions in China may reflect the country’s insular, government-dominated past. China’s sustained economic success over the past two decades is probably a major factor in the public’s continuing faith … “Trusted and powerful: the Chinese remain faithful to their government”
National Geographic Explores the World of Green Consumers: Read More on the Canadian Results (PDF) Toronto, Canada – 25 September 2012 – A new global analysis released today by the National Geographic Society finds that Canadian consumers rank 16th out of 17 countries surveyed in sustainable behavior. Canadian consumers are less likely than most to feel “guilty about the impact” they have on the environment (24% feel guilty), yet they are near the top in believing their individual choices could … “Canadian Consumers Among the Least Green and Least Guilty About Their Environmental Impact”
In a week when business leaders in the UK met with the Catholic Archbishop of Westminster to discuss ways to resurrect the reputation of the corporate sector, GlobeScan’s most recent global polling shows that while religious groups generally enjoy higher levels of trust that they will operate in the best interests of society than other institutions, in many countries there is greater skepticism about the impact they can have through their actions. While only scientists and NGO score higher on … “Religious groups highly trusted, but greater public skepticism over their impact on society”
US President Barack Obama may be enjoying a bounce in the polls this week after last week’s Democratic convention, but GlobeScan’s contextual polling suggests that he faces a much more challenging environment in terms of public attitudes than his predecessor George Bush did when seeking re-election in 2004.
Going into the 2004 election, 72 percent of Americans trusted their federal government to act in the best interests of society, and 60 percent believed that their children and grandchildren would have a better quality of life than they did. Yet in 2012, only 47 percent have such faith in their national government, while the proportion of those who believe that their children and grandchildren will have a better quality of life has fallen to 32 per cent.
In 2004 the dominant issue was foreign policy, and the incumbent was in a secure position. Twice as many Americans cited terrorism as a serious concern as cited the economy, and 64% viewed military force as an effective way to combat it—effectively endorsing the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. 67% saw America’s role in the world as positive, legitimizing Bush’s unilateralism.
President Obama enjoys no such positive consensus on the current issue of the day—economics. Despite improvement over the past three years, nearly half of Americans (44%) still feel themselves to be worse off than a year ago, and a similar proportion (48%) are pessimistic about their leaders making economic progress over the next twenty years (48%). Indeed, while in 2002 79 percent of Americans felt that America was doing a good job of reducing international terror—indicative of a strong alignment between the government’s actions and society’s wishes—today Americans are more likely to blame the government for their economic problems than they are to blame private enterprise (19% say they government is most to blame, as opposed to just 2% who blame managers and companies).
Despite the favourable environment for President Bush in 2004, he won only narrowly, with 51% of the popular vote. With another closely fought election looming, the social optimism that was present in 2004 is missing. While positive economic and social data are not necessarily required for re-election, President Obama will have to hope the American public blame their woes on his predecessor if he hopes to clinch a victory in this very different backdrop.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2012
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
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Download the Full Report 11 September 2012 – Over the last decade there has been extraordinary growth in the number of ratings, rankings and awards that seek to measure corporate sustainability performance. Just this week, the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI), Newsweek Green Rankings and others will announce how corporations have performed in their 2012 rankings of the world’s most sustainable companies. With the growing number of ratings, companies struggle to keep track and every year invest more time and effort into responding … “Experts Using Sustainability Ratings for Information, Not Action”
There is a widespread global consensus that the decision whether to treat people and the environment responsibly should not be left to the corporate world, but that national governments should take steps to compel companies to do this.
According to GlobeScan’s most recent polling, nearly nine in ten citizens (88%) across 23 countries support governments taking active legislative and regulatory steps to ensure social and environmental responsibility by companies, rather than leaving it to business to take steps voluntarily.
Among the populations who feel most strongly that governments should apply further pressure to force corporate responsibility are many with large, often controversial commodities sectors, such as Russia (95%), Nigeria (93%), Peru (92%), and Indonesia (91%). Other countries where over 90 percent of those surveyed feel further governmental action is required are crisis-hit Spain (97%) and Greece (91%), as well as France (94%), which recently elected a socialist government committed to higher levels of taxation for both businesses and the rich.
There are some surprises—India, location of the Bhopal disaster, one of the most infamous incidents of corporate negligence in history, has the lowest proportion of respondents who support government-mandated corporate responsibility in the survey—but even in India three out of four citizens support a firm government hand in this area.
While these results cast further light on the anti-business narrative GlobeScan has previously highlighted in the West, the breadth of this consensus—particularly in the developing world—demonstrates that business as a whole urgently needs to improve its approach to social citizenship. Continued failure in this regard risks a general upswing of anti-corporate feeling around the world, as well as specific impacts, driven by reputational damage, to the share prices of unresponsive corporations.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 1, 2012
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
This article originally appeared on GreenBiz.com Sept 6, 2012, as part of our Proof Points blog series 10 September 2012 – With economic difficulties looming ever larger around the world, pessimism has now taken hold among consumers in a growing number of countries, infecting even those that have so far been doing well — like emerging economies in Asia and Latin America. But for many, Africa now constitutes a bright spot. Rapidly-growing countries such as Nigeria and Ghana contribute to the cautiously … “Africa, Optimism and What it Means for Companies”