CSR, or Corporate Social Responsibility, is little known to Italians: only 20% actually know what it is, despite being an essential choice for businesses and an essential reputational element.
This is what emerges from a BVA Doxa survey aimed at measuring the level of knowledge and the value attributed to companies and institutions’ CSR policies.
The survey results also show a degree of skepticism: among those who know it, 47% believe that CSR activities “are façade and not concrete operations“.
Despite this context of limited knowledge and enhancement of specific CSR activities, 33% of Italians, as consumers, consider “very important” to be informed about the social responsibility conduct of the brands.
The percentage rises to 84% also considering those who consider this information “quite important”.
“The research shows a disenchanted attitude towards CSR by a part of Italians. – affirms Simone Pizzoglio, Head of Finance & Utilities of BVA Doxa curator of the research. -But the emerging results should not be interpreted as a total disinterest, but as a lack of knowledge of the topic and of the corporate social responsibility impact that on our society today and in the near future”.
CSR is becoming an unavoidable choice for companies and institutions, as well as an essential reputational element able both to determine the success of brands and products and to promote the active role of companies so enhancing the whole of society.
But there is a way to overcome skepticism. And Pizzoglio indicates some guidelines:
“We need to implement coherent strategies and goals and concretize them with tangible and consistent actions.
In this process, communication plays a fundamental role: initiatives must “be told” rather than “celebrated”. We need reliable data, how and why and with what results “.
There are many potential areas of inplementation: environment, human rights, labor protection, welfare and much more.
WOW! Webmagazine will soon be talking again about CSR and will organize a jelly session on this topic. Stay Tuned!
