Transparency is a key driver of corporate reputation, but it is also an area in which companies commonly underperform. There is increasing external and internal pressure on organizations to become more transparent, not only from customers and employees, but also from other stakeholders such as investors, media and regulators. Stakeholders need evidence that environmental and human rights risks are being systematically managed. But too much disclosure also can create risks. In this edition of Proof Points, we examine some barriers to transparency … “How to Remove Barriers to Corporate Transparency”
In uncertain and volatile times, global organizations need greater insight on how to better manage risks and capitalize on opportunities, build trust with their stakeholders and society, and exert a greater influence in shaping their external context. Faced with these challenges, what can those charged with managing companies and their reputation do to stay ahead of the game? To help equip corporate leaders to take on these challenges, we are publishing 14 sector intelligence reports (covering Automotive, Banking, Beer, Chemical, Clothing, Electricity, Food, IT/Tech, Media and Entertainment, Mining, Oil and Petroleum, Pharmaceutical, Supermarkets, and … “Understanding Views on Business – GlobeScan Radar Infographic and Sector Intelligence Reports”
Over the past two years, GlobeScan and its colleagues at BBMG have tracked the emergence of a market segment that is driving sustainability toward a tipping point. It is one where consumer motives are shifting away from obligation to do the right thing to desire to consume both differently and better. Choice frameworks are transitioning from “Or,” the trade-off model, to “And,” the co-benefit model. We call this important market segment the Aspirationals. In this edition of Proof Points, we ask which brands will be … “Why Companies Must Win the Trust of Aspirational Consumers”
We recently held our first roundtable event in South Africa where attendees from a mix of industries including extractives, food & beverage, forestry, healthcare, financial services, tobacco, telecommunications and IT came together to discuss stakeholder engagement and its place in the South African market. GlobeScan’s South African representative Anneke Greyling, presented new research findings on the current state of stakeholder engagement in South Africa which showed that the landscape is clearly changing but it is questionable whether corporates are adapting … “Stakeholder Intelligence is Crucial for the Long Term Success of South African Companies”
In light of the recent global debate on the morality of mass surveillance programmes, GlobeScan has teamed up with the BBC World Service to ask over 17,000 people what their perspectives are on freedom and the right to privacy. In previous blog posts, we have used this data to show that Peru, Australia and Canada represent the freest democratic states (as indicated by our Perceived Freedom Index), and that an individual’s sense of freedom is not determined by socioeconomic or … “Freedom is in the Eye of the Beholder: Trust in National Governments is Associated with Perceived Freedom of Speech”
National governments must lead the transition to sustainable development, our experts say. Yet the latest GlobeScan/SustainAbility Survey confirms what we all know: Governments are failing to deliver, resoundingly. What’s new about these latest findings is just how low the performance of national governments has fallen in the eyes of observers. Virtually none of our expert panel that was surveyed rates government performance as excellent, and just 3 percent give it a positive score of 4 out of 5. In the context of … “How Governments Fail to Lead on Sustainability”
Our recent polling for the BBC World Service showed a very mixed picture of the state of freedoms today, especially in established democracies following Edward Snowden’s allegations of widespread surveillance by the US Government. In order to better understand how different nationalities and groups rate their freedom, GlobeScan’s Advanced Analytics Team applied some statistical techniques to reveal deeper insights into how perceptions differ across the 17 countries included in our latest poll of 17,000 people. The first analysis we performed … “A Deeper Look at Freedom: How Perceptions Differ Across Countries and Groups”
A number of recent media reports, including in The Economist and Financial Times, have raised the subject of the declining state of our democracy. Some have likened recent actions by so-called “established democracies” as resembling those of autocratic states – such as the recent banning of social media in Turkey and the US government’s blanket on-line surveillance of citizens worldwide. How have all these news reports affected people’s sense of freedom and democracy in this post-Snowden age? Is there a … “Democracy by the Numbers: How Personal Freedoms are Perceived in the Digital Age”
After months of street protests that had culminated in violence, the Ukrainian parliament voted to impeach President Viktor Yanukovych on February 22nd. Yanukovych had previously sacrificed closer ties with Europe in favour of a pro-Moscow stance and his removal from power provoked a strong military, diplomatic and economic backlash from Russia, as Russian President Vladimir Putin’s project of a ‘Eurasian Union’ of former Soviet states to rival the EU was dealt a potentially terminal blow. But Russian unease is also … “Departure of Ukraine’s Yanukovych Holds Lessons for Putin”
This article was originally published on GreenBiz.com, as part of our Proof Points blog series. 21 February 2014 – Who do you trust to interpret data for your business decisions? If you’re a CEO, it may be the members of your executive team; if you’re a mainstream investor, you may look to Bloomberg or the Dow Jones Index to decipher the data on Wall Street. But what if you’re a sustainability professional? With companies producing increasingly transparent sustainability reports, each with extensive … “How Much Do Stakeholders Trust Corporate Sustainability Ratings?”