​FIBS: Businesses wake up - corporate responsibility is not quick trade, but a prerequisite of success

Linking corporate responsibility to business is difficult

Finnish companies see corporate responsibility primarily as a way to ensure the operating prerequisites and success factors of the future. This is shown in a survey published today, commissioned by FIBS and carried out by T-Media. Practically all responding corporate directors (99%) see corporate responsibility as an essential issue for their business.

The survey shows a dramatic change in the motives behind corporate responsibility. In earlier years, the most important reason to focus on corporate responsibility was reputation. In this year's survey, reputation (31%) dropped to fourth place among the driving forces of corporate responsibility.

"The change is really rapid, but also welcome," says FIBS' Leading Specialist Helena Kekki. "An ever higher number of Finnish businesses understand that corporate responsibility is not the wrapping paper, but the hard core of business. Both corporate customers and consumers appreciate actors and products they deem to be responsible. Corporate responsibility has become an important factor in explaining the long-term prerequisites for business success."

Corporate leadership the driving force behind corporate responsibility – implementation in difficulty

There is still a way to go. In businesses, integrating corporate responsibility in the entire business (62%) is seen as the greatest challenge in corporate responsibility management. Although most of the respondents reported that top management is the strongest driving force of corporate responsibility in their organisation, in management practices corporate responsibility is linked to the management incentive and reward systems in only one in three companies (32%).

"Integrating corporate responsibility in business processes and reward systems serves the long-term interests of the company," says Helena Kekki."Businesses now seem to have noticed that you cannot make short-term trade with corporate responsibility gimmicks. It is about the credibility of the entire company and its products or services."

According to the survey, only 8 percent of respondents still believe that corporate responsibility directly increases sales. In 2016, the equivalent figure was 16 percent. Meanwhile, in this year's survey, as much as 41 percent reported that corporate responsibility is the basis of all the company's business.

"It is essential for companies to develop innovative products and sustainable business models that generate added value to stakeholders", Kekki notes.

Social responsibility going up

The businesses' investments in social responsibility issues have increased considerably in the past two years. In the recent survey, 79 percent of respondents said they are promoting equality and diversity of staff, 72 percent said they enhance the protection of privacy of customer data and customers and 34 percent is preventing the use of child and forced labour.

Meanwhile, 29 percent of companies reported that they invest in human rights risk assessments and due diligence process, and this year about a fifth of companies take into consideration design for all perspectives.

Survey

FIBS corporate responsibility survey is the most extensive phone survey in the field. The survey offers a comprehensive image of the corporate responsibility practices, challenges and future outlook of large and medium-sized Finnish companies. The survey questionnaire is partly based on the international ISO 26000 social responsibility standard. The survey has been repeated annually since 2013.

A total of 200 managing directors and directors and experts in charge of corporate responsibility in Finland's 1000 largest companies were involved in the survey in 2017 (Suomen Asiakastieto Oy's database and FIBS member businesses). The sample meets the criteria for reliable sample. The survey was carried out through telephone interviews. The interviews were made in the period from 5 Jan 2017 to 8 Mar 2017. The survey was carried out by T-Media.

You can order FIBS Survey 2017 reports here (available in Finnish only)

Further information

Helena Kekki, Leading Specialist, FIBS, tel +358 50 345 1966, helena.kekki@fibsry.fi

Questions concerning the implementation of the survey: T-Media, Research Director Sari Maunula, tel +358 50 409 1543, sari.maunula@t-media.fi

FIBS – Better business
FIBS helps companies to improve their business operations: we offer information on new innovative ways to develop responsible business and a unique opportunity to network with companies in other lines of business and with other actors in society. Our services include events, coaching, theme groups, news and information services, and a Diversity Charter. FIBS network includes nearly 300 companies and organisations, and all organisations with the goal of promoting corporate responsibility in their operations are welcome to join the FIBS network. www.fibsry.fi

T-Media – evidence based reputation advisory
T-Media is a survey and communications agency, which has the world’s best tools to analyse your stakeholder relations, reputation and brand – and provide actionable outcomes. T-Media helps its customers to improve stakeholder support through communications and marketing services and management advisory. T-Media's best known analytics and research service is Reputation&Trust, which is a unique way to assess the reputation and trust of an organisation among different stakeholders and reveal critical points of development.