A GlobeScan / Haas School of Business study of the financial sector reveals “inclusive innovation” offers opportunity for the sector to grow and re-engage with society.
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Keep up to date with our latest news, webinars, and reports.
“Inclusive Innovation” Offers Opportunity for the Financial Sector to Grow and Re-engage with Society: New Report Download the Future of Finance Report (PDF) 16 December 2011 – Global banking and financial sector experts see opportunities for the financial sector to grow and re-engage with society through “inclusive innovations,” a new report launched today, The Future of Finance, has found. Economic and regulatory uncertainty in many countries, and a degree of popular resentment exemplified by protests and a decline in reputation, presents … “GlobeScan and the Haas Center for Responsible Business release: The Future of Finance”
[jumplinks] Download the Press Release (PDF) 15 December 2011 – At the end of a year that has seen multiple revolutions in the Middle East, a new BBC global poll across 22 countries shows that a narrow majority thinks the Arab Spring protests were a good thing. The poll, conducted by GlobeScan among 21,558 people, reveals that 55% on average see the protests as “mostly positive,” with just over a quarter (28%) feeling they were “mostly negative”, and the rest undecided. … “Widespread Support for Arab Spring Protests: Global Poll”
[jumplinks] Download the Press Release (PDF) 15 December 2011 – Unemployment has joined corruption and poverty among the world’s most talked-about global issues, according to a new poll for the BBC across 23 countries. The 11,293 people surveyed for the annual World Speaks poll by GlobeScan between July and September were asked to say which of a range of global issues they had talked about with friends and family over the past month. On average across the countries polled, nearly a … “Unemployment Rises as “Most Talked-About” Problem: Global Poll”
As the Durban UN summit struggles to reach an agreement that will keep climate change within acceptable limits over the next decades, GlobeScan tracking reveals that the public in much of the world is losing faith that there will be a technological solution to the problems posed by a changing climate.
The optimism that developing nations, in particular, felt that the same technological innovation that was helping to drive strong economic growth in their countries would also solve climate change with minimal changes to human behavior, appears to have waned significantly, with major falls in confidence in countries such as the Philippines, Indonesia, Kenya, and Pakistan.
These falls are mirrored in developed economies such as the UK, USA, and Spain, which were already more pessimistic that painful lifestyle adjustments could be averted in tackling climate change. If well-founded, this pessimism only underlines how critical it is that governments achieve a strong emissions-reduction agreement in Durban.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
The 2011 GlobeScan/Fenton Social Good Survey examines people’s views of nonprofits/charities and planned giving for 2012
Social Good Survey Finds Engaging Donors Personally through Multiple Channels is Key to Securing Support in Tough Economy Download the 2011 Social Good Survey (PDF) 6 December 2011 – People in the United States and United Kingdom overwhelmingly trust nonprofits and charities ahead of governments and corporations to create social change, yet most say they will make charitable donations at the same or reduced levels as last year, according to a new survey by Fenton and GlobeScan. The 2011 Social Good Survey examines … “Americans and British View Nonprofits as Effective Change Makers Yet Still Plan to Give the Same or Less”
There has been a marked decline in people’s sense of global citizenship in the last two years in three of the world’s major economies—China, the UK, and the USA.
While GlobeScan’s latest findings indicate that a sense of global citizenship is on the rise in many emerging economies across Asia, Africa, and Latin America, the ongoing economic malaise affecting the G7, the lack of progress on a new global free trade agreement, and the rekindling of doubts about the future viability of the global free market system may be among the factors that are depressing citizens’ sense of belonging to the global community in these three countries. In the UK, this year’s drop represents the continuation of a decline that started in 2007.
Nevertheless, the proportion of Chinese who see themselves as global citizens remains the highest of any country polled—62%. For a country that has spent much of its history seeking to isolate itself from the rest of the world, this is a striking turnaround.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
[jumplinks] Download the Press Release (PDF) 25 November 2011 – Public opinion in many countries with nuclear power programmes has become more opposed to the technology since 2005, with most people believing conservation and renewable energy can meet future needs without nuclear power, a new multi-country poll for the BBC indicates. Most of those polled in countries with operational nuclear plants are opposed to building new reactors, saying either that their country should “use the nuclear power stations we already have, … “Opposition to Nuclear Energy Grows: Global Poll”
GlobeScan’s tracking survey reveals that public concern about climate change has been volatile since the 2009 Copenhagen summit’s failure to agree to a global deal to reduce carbon emissions—but concern continues to be higher in developing than in developed countries.
This reflects our 2010 Greendex survey of 17 countries, where British, Swedish, German, and American respondents showed the lowest levels of agreement with the proposition “global warming will worsen my way of life within my own lifetime,” while Brazilian, Indian, and Chinese respondents showed high levels of agreement. This may reflect the greater potential for catastrophic events such as natural disasters to impact people’s lives in developing nations.
This decline in concern about climate change may result from increasing feelings of urgency about other social and economic issues overshadowing long-term concerns about the environment. In 2011, corruption, extreme poverty, the rising cost of food and energy, and terrorism emerge as greater preoccupations on a global level than climate change.
Particular factors that are likely to be behind the decline in the perceived seriousness of climate change in developed countries between 2000 and 2003—and again in 2010—are the impact of the September 11 attacks, the subsequent conflicts in the Middle East, and the global economic downturn. The widely publicized “Climategate” controversy is also likely to have been a factor.
France, Japan, and the USA have seen continuing decreases in the perceived seriousness of climate change over the past three years. Under the influence of the ongoing economic slowdown—and of the Fukushima disaster—climate change has lost attention in some major economies, and is slow to regain it.
Over the past year, however, climate change has recovered its position as an issue of serious concern in some developed and developing countries, particularly in Ecuador, Peru, Turkey, and Russia.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
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Sustainability experts strongly believe that companies have a duty to practice “choice editing” for consumers, the lastest GlobeScan/SustainAbility tracking reveals.
GlobeScan and SustainAbility regularly poll a panel of experts in sustainability issues across businesses, NGOs, government, and academia on emerging trends in sustainability. The panel was polled during September about their perspective on sustainable consumption, and the results reveal that while experts feel strongly that sustainable consumption is achievable, they have doubts about the degree to which it is compatible with economic growth, and also feel that companies have a duty to hasten the transition by restricting the choices available to consumers. Nearly four in five (78%) think that businesses have a duty to offer sustainable product lines instead of, rather than as well as, unsustainable ones.
With sustainable options still associated with premium pricing in many sectors, this perspective is likely to be challenging for companies, particularly during hard economic times, but it reflects how the terms of the debate are shifting. Another challenge is that GlobeScan consumer tracking also reveals that many people are skeptical about the claims that companies make for the responsible credentials of their products, citing “greenwash” as a major barrier to adopting more responsible consumer behavior. Sustainability champions within businesses will need to address both these issues if “choice editing” is to become a reality.
Finding from The 2011 GlobeScan/SustainAbility Survey
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
Full Report of the BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2011, released at the BSR Conference 2011
Fact Sheet for the BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2011, released at the BSR Conference 2011
[jumplinks] Download the Press Release (PDF) 2 November 2011 – Consumers in many of the world’s major industrialised economies are pessimistic about economic prospects in their country, while those in emerging economies are much more upbeat, according to a new 25-nation poll for BBC World Service. The poll of 25,438 people was conducted by GlobeScan between July and September this year. Respondents were asked to say whether they expect good or bad economic times in the next year, and also over … “Rich Nations Gloomy, Emerging Economies Upbeat: Global Consumer Confidence Poll”
Globescan’s Chris Coulter and BSR’s Aron Cramer discuss this year’s survey Download the Full Report (PDF)Download the Fact Sheet (PDF) 2 November 2011 – Results from the “BSR/GlobeScan State of Sustainable Business Poll 2011,” released today at the BSR Conference 2011, show that global businesses remain highly committed to sustainability. For the second straight year, more than eight in 10 respondents (84 percent) are optimistic that global businesses will embrace CSR/sustainability as part of their core strategies and operations in the next … “Widespread Optimism on Crucial Role of Sustainability in Corporate Strategy”
In a week when the stability of the global economy was once again called into question, with European political leaders meeting to seek a solution to the ongoing crisis in the Eurozone, GlobeScan’s tracking data shows that the public in many countries remains deeply pessimistic about the future of the planet.
For over ten years, GlobeScan has been monitoring the degree to which people around the globe feel that “the world is going in the right direction.” On average, less than one-third of those polled have endorsed this view in recent years. This year’s findings show that there has been no rebound in optimism—and indeed that confidence in the way the world is heading has taken a further knock in many of the world’s major economies.
Less than a fifth (19%) of Americans now feel that the world is going in the right direction, compared to more than half back in 2001. Only 14 per cent of Japanese feel the same way. Just one in ten in Spain, one of the countries at the eye of the Eurozone storm, and fewer than a quarter of UK respondents are optimistic about the world’s direction—a figure that has fallen continually since 2006.
Optimism is markedly higher in emerging economies such as China, where 65% think the world is headed in the right direction, and Indonesia (43%)—but in both of these countries the trend is also downwards. Only in a few developing and middle-income countries—Peru, Russia, Turkey, and Nigeria—is optimism on the increase. With concern on many global issues very high, and trust in institutions low, it may be that the public perceives a sense of drift and absence of leadership in dealing, not only with the economic crisis, but also with such problems as climate change, the spread of disease, and terrorism.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
In contrast to the banking industry’s declining reputation in the UK and US, where public anger against the finance industry has been seen in drawn-out public protests, GlobeScan tracking reveals that respect for the sector’s reputation remains relatively solid in China and India.
The data shows that while Britons’ and Americans’ respect for banks and financial companies is falling, the industry’s reputation has not suffered the same fate in China and India. In fact, Indians have become increasingly likely to say they respect the banking sector—almost half (49%) now say they do, compared to 39 percent in 2008. Public esteem also remains strong in China despite a slight decrease in the past year.
Banks, and the economy in general, have fared relatively well in India and China—counteracting the negative trend seen elsewhere. New investments by Indian banks such as installing ATMs and establishing new offices throughout the country have created jobs and better services and improved the sector’s reputation.
Higher levels of respect for banks and financial companies in China and India also reflect relatively positive views there of the sector’s social performance. When asked how well they fulfill their responsibilities to society compared to other types of companies, Chinese and, in particular, Indian respondents rate the industry more positively; 58 percent of Indians and 33 percent of Chinese rate banks and finance companies “among the very best” or “above average,” compared to 14 percent, each, of Americans and Britons.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
As the Occupy Wall Street protests continue, public respect for the banking sector has reached a new low in the US and UK, GlobeScan tracking reveals.
The findings show that a majority of Americans (55%) now say they have little or no respect for the banking sector. Banks are even more poorly viewed in the UK, where 63% say they have little or no respect for them.
This represents a steep decline in public respect for the banks since 2005, when just 25% of Americans and 36% of Britons said they had no respect for them. And while respect for the sector has been on the decline since then, the banking crisis of 2008 seems to have accelerated the loss of public esteem.
The decline in the banking sector’s reputation is being accompanied by increasing calls for governments to step in and regulate it more closely. GlobeScan found in 2010 that two-thirds of Britons (66%) felt that there was insufficient government regulation of the banking sector – higher than in any other country polled. But nearly half of Americans (48%) also felt that banks needed to be more tightly regulated.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 2, 2011
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
14 October 2011 – As the Occupy Wall Street protests continue, public respect for the banking sector has reached a new low in the US and UK, according to new polling research released by GlobeScan today. GlobeScan polled 500 adults each in the UK and US as part of the annual GlobeScan Radar 24-country global public opinion study on business and its role in society. The findings show that a majority of Americans (55%) now say they have “little” or “no” … “Public Respect for Banks Lower than Ever”
Shopping Choices Can Make a Positive Difference to Farmers and Workers in Developing Countries: Global Poll 11 October 2011 – Fairtrade is cementing its position as a market leader in ethical labels and a trusted brand across 24 countries, according to a comprehensive global study of 17,000 consumers carried out for Fairtrade International by international opinion research consultancy GlobeScan. The study showed that Fairtrade is the most widely recognized ethical label globally. Nearly six in ten consumers (57%) across the 24 … “High Trust and Global Recognition Makes Fairtrade an Enabler of Ethical Consumer Choice”
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11 October 2011 – Consumers across the world remain firm in their belief that their shopping choices can make a positive difference for farmers and workers in developing countries, according to a new global survey of 17 000 consumers in 24 countries conducted for Fairtrade International by international research consultancy GlobeScan. Six out of ten consumers (59%) feel empowered to make a difference through their shopping choices. This conviction remains as strong as or stronger than at the outset of the … “Shopping Choices Can Make a Positive Difference to Farmers and Workers in Developing Countries”
Government leaders have fallen well behind leaders of NGOs, corporations, and multilateral organizations in advancing the sustainability agenda ahead of the Rio+20 Summit, according to GlobeScan and SustainAbility’s recent survey of experts in the field. GlobeScan and SustainAbility surveyed over 500 sustainability experts from across 60+ countries on the sustainability performance of key players at the Rio+20 Summit. With experts giving high marks to NGO leaders on advancing the sustainability agenda, middling ratings to corporate leaders and leaders of multilateral … “Ahead of Rio+20, governments on back foot”
The latest GlobeScan tracking data suggest that a shift may be taking place among ethical consumers, from a focus on punishing irresponsible companies to one characterized by rewarding those companies seen as socially or environmentally responsible.
Since the early years of the last decade, there has been a marked increase in self-reported rewarding and punishing of companies on ethical grounds by consumers across 14 developing and industrialized countries. The numbers punishing companies have been much more volatile, however, likely driven by the periodic emergence of high-profile scandals affecting individual companies. But since 2005 such punishment, rather than reward, has been the dominant expression of ethical consumerism.
This picture now appears to have changed, with the numbers punishing companies for bad practices falling away, while those rewarding responsible companies remain stable. This is probably a consequence, at least in part, of increased consumer choice of ethical products in many sectors—though economic factors may also be at play in the sharp decline in those refusing to buy from irresponsible companies.
Finding from the GlobeScan Radar, Wave 1, 2011
For more information on this finding, please contact Sam Mountford (Read Bio)
[jumplinks] Download the Press Release (PDF) 2 November 2011 – As debate continues over whether the Palestinians should ask for a UN resolution recognising Palestine as an independent state, a new global poll for BBC World Service reveals that, in all 19 countries surveyed, more citizens would prefer to see their government vote to support the resolution than vote against it – although only by a modest margin in many countries. The poll of 20,446 citizens conducted by GlobeScan shows that, … “Public Narrowly Backs UN Recognition of Palestine: Global Poll”