Despite a perception that corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability programs can impact corporate reputation, companies that have these programs in place often fail to integrate them into their corporate communications strategies, finds Grayling in its latest quarterly survey of in-house communications professionals. Just 48% of US organizations surveyed (and 66% globally) with these programs say they have been included in communications strategy.
US companies show up not only as lagging in their integration of CSR and sustainability strategies, but also in their adoption of them in the first place. 37% of US organizations said they have yet to develop such a strategy, compared to the global average of 26%.
But, American companies appear to be more altruistic than their global counterparts: 70% said the main driver for their CSR and sustainability programs is a genuine sense of responsibility to the environment and community. Only 31% of global organizations shared that view.
Other Findings:
- Slightly less than half of the US companies surveyed are devoting up to 10% of their communications budget to CSR communications.
- Half of the companies believe the media has an interest in covering CSR issues.
- CSR and sustainability activities are most commonly communicated through employee/internal communications (46%), media relations (42%) and social media (42%).
About the Data: The Grayling Pulse data is based on a survey of 1,300 communications professionals from around the world.
