Revealing the Responsible Business Gap: February 2022
Recent global events such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the continuing climate emergency and the Black Lives Matter movement, have focussed the public mind on the role that business plays in facing the world’s greatest environmental and societal challenges. But how do the actions of business match up with the opinions of the British public?
In February 2022 the Lloyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business commissioned YouGov to conduct two surveys on responsible business practices, one for senior business decision makers and one for British adults, to find out if the expectations of the public are being met by businesses.
Thorough research from the Centre has identified five ‘positive pathways’ as key areas for driving responsible business practice.
Those pathways are:
- Responsible governance
- Responsible accountability
- Responsible production
- Responsible consumption
- Responsible leadership
The key findings from the surveys have been grouped under these pathways to show how much or little progress is being made in these areas.
About the survey
Methodology:
All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from YouGov Plc. Total sample size was 1104 senior business decision makers and 2233 GB adults (18+). Fieldwork was undertaken between 23rd February – 10th March 2022. The survey was carried out online. The figures have been weighted and are representative of business size and GB adults (aged 18+) respectively.
Key findings
Positive pathway 1 – Responsible governance
- Only 13% of senior business decision makers said it is important to tackle precarious work in their strategy, whilst 64% of the public expect businesses to do this for low paid, unprotected forms of employment.
- 45% of senior business decision makers said they haven’t incorporated the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals into their purpose or operations, this includes 67% of small businesses and 20% of large.
- 50% of senior business decision makers surveyed said their business doesn’t have a net zero strategy at all, even though 74% of British adults surveyed say that businesses should have one.
- 41% of senior business decision makers said they don’t collaborate with any external expertise on sustainability issues, whilst 34% of people surveyed said that businesses should engage with scientists to make complex changes/decisions.
- More than half of British adults want laws and/or government policies to compel businesses to be more responsible/sustainable.
- Three in ten (30%) senior business decision makers surveyed said that their purpose was to generate profit over sustainability, growth or purpose, whereas 42% of British adults said businesses should balance profit with social and environmental justice and a further 25% saying a business’ purpose should be to make a positive impact on society.
Positive pathway 2 – Responsible accountability
- 17% of senior business decision makers said nothing would encourage them to be more sustainable, with some respondents saying that sustainability is only a luxury big business can afford to engage with.
- British adults are keen for businesses to think more sustainably and responsibly about their purpose and impact on society and the environment with 42% of British adults saying businesses should balance profit with social and environmental justice and a further 25% saying a business’ purpose should be to make a positive impact on society.
- Most senior business decision makers surveyed were concerned with brand reputation when it came to drivers to act more responsibly. However, the public said they believed a business would change out of fear of public boycotts, but only 7% of senior business decision makers said that would be the case. When it comes to responsible business practices/issues consumers overestimate their power to influence change when it comes to the business community.
Positive pathway 3 – Responsible production
- For those businesses surveyed that do have a net zero plan, carbon offsetting seemed to be most popular way to combat emissions. This is often seen as the ‘easier’ way out – planting trees or taking part in offsetting schemes is simpler to do rather than eliminating or reducing carbon emissions at source that are produced by the business or because of the business.
- Only 14% of senior business decision makers recognise the threats of sustainability to their existing business model and 23% the opportunities.
Positive pathway 4 – Responsible consumption
- More than half (53%) of senior businesses decision makers say they want to build long-term relationships with customers, but few are concerned with trust, boycotts, threats/opportunities of sustainability.
- 28% of British adults said they want to choose the most sustainable option, if given clear and trustworthy information about the environmental and social impact of a product, whereas only 13% of senior business decision makers believed the same.
- Most people surveyed said they tried to act sustainably in one way or another.
- Across the public survey, women consistently ‘scored higher’ than men when it came to sustainability/responsible measures.
Positive pathway 5 – Responsible leadership
- 52% of British adults said that the gap between the highest and lowest paid employee should be published in the same way the gender gap is, whilst just a tiny 14% of senior business decision makers surveyed said they currently publish this.
- Mainly only bigger businesses are doing anything other than inadequate incrementalism on sustainability, showing that the necessary radical mindset need to create real change is currently rare in business.
Conclusions
The survey has shown a huge disparity between public opinion on how businesses should behave when it comes to environmental and social issues, and how businesses are conducting themselves. Business is seemingly stuck in a traditional, out-dated view of what its purpose in the world is, but consumers are increasingly expecting more from the business community. Companies big and small, across all sectors, need to completely revolutionise the way they see themselves and make radical changes in order to reach net zero and have a positive impact on the world, before time runs out.
About the Centre for Responsible Business
The Loyds Banking Group Centre for Responsible Business is a strategic initiative from Birmingham Business School. The Centre is funded by Lloyds Banking Group, but operates independently, to help develop insight for businesses to work towards a more responsible future in business.