What does Canada think about CCSR?
National Surveys on CCSR in Canada by Abacus Data Inc.
In partnership with the Canada Conference on CCSR, Abacus Data, over the past two years, has been conducting national public opinion research on issues related to corporate and community social responsibility in Canada. David Coletto, Abacus' CEO, is the Official Pollster for the CCSR Conference. Whereas, there is a significant amount of research data from American and European sources, there is a lack of Canadian data on Canadian consumer attitudes and behavior.
The intent of the six-part research series carried out during the first year by Abacus Data was to gather data solely from Canadians by Canadians over a 12-month period. The six surveys were conducted on topics ranging from ethical consumerism and investing to perceptions about the Occupy Movement. It provided us with a Canadian perspective on corporate and community social responsibility and allows us to track attitudes and behavior over time. This year, two new studies will be released prior to the CCSR Conference in November.
One study will examine Canadian opinions about cause marketing. Taking a cue from studies in the United States, this survey looks at what Canadians want from cause marketing, whether cause marketing makes a difference to brand reputation and purchase decisions, and what causes Canadians care most about.
The second study looks at how Canadians rate their own individual social responsibility. It is one thing to demand corporations act responsibly, but how do Canadians rate themselves? The study asks survey respondents to rate the importance of a set of individual actions and then to evaluate how well Canadians are doing in general at following through on them.
For a summary of the research that was conducted last year, you can review the presentation given by David Coletto at last year's CCSR Conference. You can also download all the reports on the Abacus Data website (http://abacusdata.ca/what-we-do/corporate-consciousness-and-responsibility/corporate-social-responsibility-research-series/).
Below you will find reports from the surveys.
Canadian Benchmark Survey - November 2010
This survey was conducted for the 2010 CCSR Conference and sought to establish some benchmarks on Canadian attitudes towards CCSR.
Ethical Consumerism - January 2011
This survey asked Canadians about whether they consider themselves to be ethical consumers and examined consumer behaviour through the frame of social responsibility. A majority of Canadians consider themselves to be ethical consumers and are willing to spend more for products and services from socially responsible companies.
Ethical Employment - March 2011
This survey examined Canadians attitudes towards employment benefits and asked Canadians whether they worked for an ethical company or organization. Although a company's success and a job's flexibility were the top two ranked factors when Canadians consider where to work, a company's reputation and its ethics were not far behind.
Ethical Investing - May 2011
This survey looks at ethical investing from a Canadian consumers perspective and finds that 26% of Canadians surveyed considered the ethical nature of their investments before investing. More noteworthy was the finding that local investment trumps international investment as a preferred CSR focus. The survey also found that social causes such as affordable housing and education outranked the environment when Canadians were asked to rank their preferences for CSR investments.
2011 CCSR Presentation
Download the powerpointComing Soon
Individual Social Responsibility Profile - Coming in SeptemberCanadian Benchmark Survey - Coming in October
