About Us

As a proudly independent, purpose-led, employee-owned company, we’re invested in the long-term success of our partners and society.

As a proudly independent, purpose-led, employee-owned company, we’re invested in the long-term success of our partners and society.

GlobeScan is a global insights and strategy consultancy helping companies, NGOs, and governmental organizations know their world and create strategies to lead a sustainable and equitable future.

We combine over 35 years of data-driven insights with a global network of experts and the ability to engage any stakeholder or consumer — from the boardroom to new voices breaking through.

Established in 1987, we have offices in Cape Town, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, London, Paris, San Francisco, São Paulo, Singapore, and Toronto.

We’re a Certified B Corp and a participant of the United Nations Global Compact.

GlobeScan’s purpose is to co-create a sustainable and equitable future.

In 2017, GlobeScan certified as a B Corporation and joined the global movement of people using business as a force for good. B Corporations meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, transparency, and accountability and aspire to use the power of business to solve social and environmental challenges facing the world.

In 2021, GlobeScan recertified as a B Corp achieving an overall impact score of 101.2 – a 20.8-point increase on our original certification score of 80.4 back in 2017. In 2019, GlobeScan was recognized as one of the ’Best for the World’ B Corps for ‘Workers’, and again in 2022, this time for ‘Governance’.

Since 2004, GlobeScan has been committed to the United Nations Global Compact corporate responsibility initiative and its principles in the areas of human rights, labour, the environment and anti-corruption.

GlobeScan is a Corporate Member of ESOMAR. ESOMAR is a not-for-profit organization that promotes the value of market, opinion, and social research and data analytics, providing ethical and professional guidance and advocating on behalf of their global membership community. GlobeScan adheres to the rigorous standard of ICC/ESOMAR code of conduct.

GlobeScan partners with One Tree Planted, an environmental charity with a focus on global reforestation. As an insights and strategy consultancy, we conduct tens of thousands of interviews with stakeholders around the world each year for our clients and we have chosen to incentivize stakeholders to participate in our research by planting trees in return for their valuable time.

We’re committed to reducing our carbon footprint. Through our partnership with Climate Care, we have cut over 1,000 tonnes of CO2 through their offset program by reducing residual carbon emissions from our air travel.

Decarbonizing our energy systems is essential to combating climate change. By partnering with Bullfrog Power, we help bring renewable energy projects to the grid. We are reducing our carbon footprint and helping fund community-based green energy projects like solar panels for schools, non-profits, and Indigenous communities.

OUR Historical TIMELINE

1987: GlobeScan is launched

Doug Miller launched GlobeScan to help companies, NGOs and governmental organizations better navigate the challenges and opportunities of the emerging sustainable development agenda.

1994: Survey of Sustainability Experts

Now produced in partnership with SustainAbility, we started this survey of business, government, NGO and institutional leaders to examine the evolving sustainable development agenda and leadership in the field.

1997: GlobeScan Radar

We launched the GlobeScan Radar survey, an ongoing public opinion survey exploring the views of the global public on a range of critical issues facing the world from sustainable development to the relationship between business and society.

2003: London office

The GlobeScan London office is opened to better serve our growing list of European clients and partners.

2004: UN Global Compact

We officially became participants of this important United Nations initiative to put a framework around our sustainable and socially responsible policies, and to report on implementation.

2005: Reputation management system

We partnered with the global brewing and beverage company SABMiller to create what would become a staple service of ours: a customized reputation management system to integrate stakeholder perceptions and corporate performance.

2005: BBC World Service poll

We launched our first BBC World Service Poll of ~20,000 people in 20+ countries to gain insights on broad trends as well as regional and demographic-specific perspectives of important social and political issues.

2008: Greendex

In collaboration with National Geographic, we launched Greendex, a study to measure, compare and track sustainable consumer behaviour across 17 countries.

2009: San Francisco office

We opened our first permanent US office in San Francisco to cater to our expanding list of American clients – many of which are headquartered in the Bay area.

2012: Regeneration Roadmap

We partnered with SustainAbility on the Regeneration Roadmap – a collaborative initiative aimed at providing a path for achieving sustainable development for future generation.

2012: Collaboration Forum

We partnered with Unilever to help them engage their stakeholders at scale through the Unilever Sustainable Living Lab via our Collaboration Forum tool, an online moderated dialogue platform to co-create solutions to global sustainability challenges.

2014: Cape Town office

The opening of our Cape Town office marked an important commitment to the work we conduct with African clients.

2014: São Paulo office

We opened our São Paulo office to expand our global reach into another important region of the world.

2015: Hong Kong office

We expanded our presence in the Asia-Pacific region and appointed our Hong Kong director.

2015: Aspirationals Consumer Index

In partnership with BBMG, we launched the Aspirationals Consumer Index, a report that revealed a profound marketplace shift toward authenticity, wellbeing, sustainability and social purpose.

2016: Corporate Affairs Survey

We launched the Corporate Affairs Survey, our global survey of corporate affairs professionals, to gain insight on their experience and approach, as well as on the challenges they face in managing trust.

2017: GlobeScan Radar anniversary

After 20 years, GlobeScan Radar continues to look at long-term trends related to the role of business in society, as well as citizen perceptions of environmental, economic and other global issues.

2017: 10,000th webinar attendee

We regularly convene free online webinars to share our latest research, commentary and perspectives on global trends, reputation management, branding, sustainability and stakeholder engagement.

2017: Survey of the Poor

In partnership with Oxfam, the GlobeScan Foundation released results from its initiative to conduct the Survey of the Poor, a seminal study to explore the realities, hopes, concerns and expectations of low income people in India.

2017: 20th Anniversary of GSS Leaders

The Sustainability Leaders Survey has tracked expert opinions globally on the evolution of the sustainability agenda for two decades, along with views on the leading organizations most responsible for driving it forward.

2017: Certification as a B Corp

In 2017, GlobeScan certified as a B Corporation and joined the global movement of people using business as a force for good.

2018: Launch of SDG Leadership Series

In March, we launched our SDG Leadership Series of open, interactive, online collaboration forums on each of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

2018: Launch of New Book – All In: The Future of Business Leadership

The book, co-authored by GlobeScan CEO Chris Coulter, Mark Lee (SustainAbility) and David Grayson (Cranfield School of Management), identifies the essential attributes of high-impact corporate sustainability leadership and describes how companies can combine and apply those characteristics for future success.

2019: Paris office

The GlobeScan Paris office is opened to better support our growing client network in France, and Western Europe.

2019: Healthy and Sustainable Living

We launched our Healthy & Sustainable Living global consumer insights research program to provide brands with global and comparative research on the trends shaping consumer attitudes and behaviors related to sustainability.

2020: Oxford-GlobeScan partnership

Our partnership with the Säid Business School at Oxford University leverages our combined expertise in Corporate Affairs. We conduct an annual survey of Corporate Affairs professionals on how to build enduring trust and strong reputations.

2021: GlobeScan launches new branding

We launched a new look for the GlobeScan brand and introduced a new tagline – Know your world, Lead the future. We are committed to redoubling our efforts to serve our clients and community for a new era of leadership and fulfilling our purpose: to co-create a sustainable and equitable future.

2022: Launch of New Book – The Sustainable Business Handbook

The second book co-authored by GlobeScan CEO Chris Coulter, Mark Lee (SustainAbility) and David Grayson (Cranfield School of Management), provides guidance on how to become more innovative, resilient and successful.

2022: GlobeScan turns 35

Celebrating 35 years of impact.

2023: Singapore office

The GlobeScan Singapore office is opened to expand our global footprint to nine offices across all regions of the world and strengthening our presence in Asia.