Responsible Ireland Survey CEO Attitudes to Responsible Business

October 2012

2

Research Approach

Research Methodology Overview

Telephone Survey August-September 2012

15-20 minute survey

100 Managing Directors/Chief Executives

Top 1000 Companies

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Defining Corporate Responsibility

The term ‘corporate responsibility’ was defined in the

survey to describe the ethical, economic,

environmental, and social impacts and issues that

concern the private sector. There are many different

terms used to capture this concept, including

sustainability, corporate social responsibility, corporate

citizenship, ESG (environmental, social, and

governance), and others.

4

A Changing Landscape

Business in the Community’s Responsible Business Survey has been running for three years.

A number of key trends have emerged since 2010:

1. CR commitment has remained consistently strong

2. Measuring the impact of CR is increasingly important –

but still under-developed

3. CR continues to play a significant role in staff loyalty,

competitive performance and business success.

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Dealing with impact of recession –

still a top priority for CEOs

Q. What are the key challenges facing your organisation in the coming year?

2%

5%

7%

8%

11%

11%

11%

21%

21%

24%

29%

32%

Regulations

Government spending/stability

Energy Costs

Labour Costs

Acquiring/keeping Talent

Lack of Credit or Capital

Weak Demand

Business Growth

Customer Loyalty

Competitive Pressures

Cost Pressures

Recession

The rank order of key

challenges has

remained broadly

unchanged since 2010.

The challenge of

accessing credit and/or

capital fell from 13% in

2010 to 5% in 2011

6 Q. How important is driving the corporate responsibility agenda in your organisation to you personally?

CEOs feel a personal dedication to having a

responsible business agenda

Not at all important,

0%

Somewhat unimportant

, 4% Neither/nor,

8%

Somewhat important,

44%

Extremely important,

44%

Q. How well embedded is CR across your organisation? Scale of 1-10

10 1 7.2

The CR agenda remains

important for the vast

majority of CEOs. The

degree to which CR is

embedded in

organisations rises from

6.8 of Irish-owned to 7.6

of foreign owned

businesses.

93% said CR agenda personally important in 2011

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Most are prepared for legislative change

- but not all

Q. The EU is currently progressing legislation that would require non-financial reporting on social and environmental measures. Does your company currently report on these measures as part of its reporting cycle?

Yes, 58%

No, 36%

Don't know, 6%

Larger companies, and

those selling mostly

outside of Ireland, are

more advanced in terms

of reporting non-financial

measures.

27% of companies published a CR report in 2010

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Title of Person Responsible for CR Agenda

Q. What is the title of the person or department primarily in charge of CR in your organisation?

6%

7%

8%

9%

9%

14%

16%

Spread across divisions

Financial director/dept

Marketing director/dept

Head of CR/CSR

Senior management team

CEO/MD

HR director/dept

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Embedding CR: KPIs & Interactions

Q. Is your corporate responsibility strategy linked to staff or management KPIs?

Yes, 55% No, 40%

Don't know, 5%

Q. Which department interacts least with the CR agenda/strategy in your organisation?

Finance was singled

out at the department

that interacts least

with the CR strategy

by 18% of CEOs, but

the vast majority –

59% - said that all

departments were

equally engaged.

55% included CR in employee personal development in 2010

10

Main CR Initiatives

Q. What are the main corporate responsibility initiatives your organisation is undertaking right now?

69%

56%

47%

3%

Communityfocused

Workplacefocused

Environmentalfocused

Marketplacefocused

Foreign-owned

businesses are more

likely to have a

community and

environmental focus

in the CR initiatives,

while Irish-owned

businesses have a

relatively greater

workplace focus.

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Main CR Motivations

Q. What would you say are the main motivations for these type of initiatives and strategies?

4%

6%

7%

12%

15%

18%

20%

36%

Reduce environmental impact

Respond to legislation

Engrained in company heritage

Giving something back

Company sustainability

Positive brand image

Improve working environment

Improve community links

Positive brand image

is more important to

Irish-owned

businesses, while

company heritage and

giving something

back are more

important for foreign-

owned businesses.

Employee well-being/working environment ranked 4th in 2011

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Main CR Motivations

“Sustainable business in the long run, plus cost return element and our customer expectations.”

“We want to be seen as a socially responsible company and to be seen as more than a corporate entity.”

“The start of our vision is not to damage the

environment but to improve the environment where

we're involved.” “Were a local Irish based company and most of our

workforce are employed from the local community and we feel were giving something back to the local community.”

“To be a responsible business and to be seen as responsible, given we’re a high profile business, and secondly cost reductions.”

“To build trust and reputation, to reward loyal consumers and ensure the health of the environment we work in.”

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Measuring CR Impact

Q. How do you measure the impact of your corporate responsibility practices?

20%

10%

2%

4%

8%

12%

12%

12%

15%

22%

Don't measure

Don't know

New business

Cost of activities

Audits and standards

KPI targets

Staff engagement/ turnover

Customer loyalty/ brand image

Annual reports

Feedback from 'beneficiaries'

7 in 10 CEOs felt it important to measure CR impact in 2010

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CR’s Business Impact

Q. In your opinion, do your organisation’s CR activities give you a competitive advantage?

Q. Do you feel corporate responsibility has a positive impact on your bottom line?

Yes, 56%

No, 40%

Don't know, 4%

Competitive Advantage?

Yes, 71%

No, 20%

Don't know, 9%

Positive Impact?

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Competitive Advantages

“Were often asked in prequalifying questionnaires for tenders if we operate sustainably and have disaster

pre-planning in place.”

“I think we would be seen as a good place to work for so, it helps us to attract the right people.”

“We can show other companies that we are

dealing with the controls and regulations that we have in

place to protect and enhance the company.”

“I would say being able to work with consumers on initiatives. It would give us an advantage indirectly

through enhanced feedback and therefore consumer preference.”

“If people want to work for the organisation it is because of our reputation due to our working practices . We offer excellent

training programmes and are a fair and reputable company to work for.”

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Measurable Returns

4%

7%

9%

11%

13%

25%

34%

Improves profits/ turnover

Reduces costs

Better community relations

More business

Better customer relations

Getting/ keeping key staff

Improved brand image

Q. And how does this competitive advantage present itself? Base: those who gain advantage

Again, brand image is

a more important

measure for Irish-

owned businesses,

while foreign-owned

businesses are more

likely to focus on

employee recruitment

and retention.

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Main Barriers to CR

Q. Overall, what do you consider to be the biggest barrier to corporate responsibility in your organisation?

26%

15% 13%

10% 8%

7% 5% 5%

4%

12%

Funding/costs

Time pressure Staffengagement

Internalunderstanding

Resources None Lack ofevidence

Otherpriorities

Economy Don't know

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Main Barriers

“It's actually hard to answer that. I don't think we have any major barriers. Sometimes it's hard to deliver the work of good quality corporate

relationship with somebody else; resources I suppose.”

“I suppose just all the other pressures of running a business; the costs and all that. Just need to make sure we keep the Corporate

Responsibility on the agenda as well.”

“The current transformation and re-organisation, from our perspective the survival of the company is our main

priority rather than the contributing to the community.”

“The lack of time we have to commit to these procedures due to the cut down of staff. We have to prioritise what we

should take part in and what we don't.”

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Ireland’s Business Reputation

Q. Do you think Ireland’s business reputation has improved in the past year? At home

Yes, 58% No, 30%

Don't know, 12%

At Home

Yes, 70%

No, 16%

Don't know, 14%

Abroad

Q. Do you think Ireland’s business reputation has improved in the past year? Abroad

Fewer than 1 in 4 rated Ireland’s business reputation as good in 2010

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Conclusions

Despite four years of recession in Ireland, CEOs in our

survey are as committed as ever to the corporate

responsibility agenda.

Ultimately CR is their way of embedding long term thinking

in their organisations at a time of extraordinary short term

pressures and uncertainty.

The continuing high level of commitment to CR is a key

measure of the business community’s commitment to

Ireland’s economic, social and environmental wellbeing in

for the foreseeable future.

For further Information

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#ResBizWeek

These survey findings were announced during Responsible

Business Week 2012. Responsible Business Week is run by

Business in the Community Ireland, the network for responsible

business. To find out more about the survey or about BITCI

please visit www.bitc.ie