Is CSR improving public opinion of British business?

The UK public, a notoriously sceptical group, is leaning towards a greater belief in British business ethics, a poll has found. More than half of respondents to an IPSOS MORI poll said they believed UK businesses were behaving ethically compared with a third who thought not.

The figures show a seven per cent increase among those who now feel British companies are either 'very' or 'fairly' ethical. However, a rather desultory 38% said they felt business ethics had improved over the last ten years.

There is no doubt that British companies are taking CSR more and more seriously for a variety of reasons. However, with a result of that nature it's fair to ask why there hasn't been more recognition of the work they are doing.

In yesterday's blog I talked about a survey of how CSR is communicated in Europe. Interviews with professionals in the field revealed their nervousness at being criticised for 'bragging' if they talked about their CSR achievements. It is certainly true that Europeans on the whole are not given to taken what they're told at face value. However, if companies are making a genuine difference then they do need to shout about it, or public opinion, as expressed in polls like this, will not change.

Interestingly, the groups which particularly feel business is behaving more ethically since last years poll are the over 55s and women. Perhaps this is an indication of where CSR practice is kicking in?

Of all those most likely to believe that British business behaves very or fairly ethically, workers and those aged 35-54 come top. This is encouraging, as those people make up the majority of the workforce and are likely to see business practice first hand.

It would appear that the public's objection to British business ethics is linked to some quite specific issues. The most emotive of these, and that which came out as most important, is executive pay. 35 per cent of survey respondents put this among the three issues they felt needed to be tackled.

Executive pay, in particular the bonuses paid to bankers, and some city workers, has exercised British public and media opinion throughout 2010. There has been real anger at the unfair and undeserved pay settlements of top executives. Fred Goodwin, former CEO of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) was reportedly paid a £700,000 bonus, despite axing thousands of low-paid jobs and presiding over a loss of £24.1billion - the biggest in British corporate history. His bank then had to be bailed out by the taxpayer. Although executive pay is not often an area which is addressed in CSR policies, perhaps it should be. It is, after all, a question of ethics.

One has to ask how socially responsible an organisation is if it is willing to pay huge salaries to those at the top, at the expense of those at the bottom.

Photo credit: Thomas Cunningham