Executives Think the Public Now Cares Less About Green
The financial crisis has increased the public’s expectations
of business’s role in society. Most companies have maintained or
increased their efforts to address sociopolitical issues, and many
have already derived better-than-expected benefits from doing
so.
The global downturn has
shifted executives’ perceptions about the issues that matter most
to the public, according to a recent McKinsey survey.
The environment is perceived as being less critical to the
public than it was a year ago (only 49% of
respondents marked it as a top concern of the public, compared with
57% in 2008), while executive compensation has
moved more into the spotlight (28% in 2009 versus
15% in 2008).
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Tackling sociopolitical issues in hard times: McKinsey Global
Survey results
Despite the global economic downturn, a greater proportion of
executives than last year say large corporations make a positive
contribution to the public good, according to the fourth annual
McKinsey survey on the role of business in society. Although a
smaller share of executives than in 2007 say large corporations
make a positive contribution to the public good (59 percent this
year versus 67 percent in 2007), executives think the crisis has
increased the public’s expectations of business’s role in society.
In response, companies are maintaining or increasing their
engagement in social and political issues. As a result, most are
already reaping business benefits that far exceed a reputational
boost.
For the fourth consecutive year, executives answered questions
on which social and political issues will gain public prominence
and which will have the greatest impact on shareholder value. This
year, the survey also explored the impact of the financial crisis
on companies’ sociopolitical agendas and the financial benefits
companies have gained from addressing a variety of social and
political issues.
Executives think the environment still commands the most public
attention, but, as a result of the crisis, they expect executive
compensation and companies’ political influence and involvement to
gain prominence. Nonetheless, the crisis has not changed their own
long-term views on which issues will affect shareholder value the
most: the environment (including climate change), companies’
political influence, health care and other employee benefits,
executive compensation, and privacy and data security.
Read the full synopsis of the McKinsey Report
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Source: www.mckinseyquarterly.com
