According to the fourth annual Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Monitor survey of over 21,000 consumers, shareholders and corporate employees in 21 countries, significant proportions of people in most countries are unable to name a socially responsible company.

People have a difficult time naming socially responsible companies despite consistently high expectations for companies to be socially responsible, strong interest in learning more about corporate social performance, and high levels of consumer activism around corporate social responsibility.

For detailed results, visit www.environicsinternational.com/sp-csr.asp.

Key findings:

  • Consumers in the developing world increasingly expect companies to go beyond their traditional economic roles. For the first time in four years of polling, consumers in developing countries are waking up to CSR and demanding more from companies in social and environmental areas.

  • There have been significant, but opposite, changes in both the United States and Japan in the perceived role of companies in society. Recent corporate scandals in the United States, and the resulting debates around corporate governance, have lowered expectations for companies to go beyond the traditional economic role. In Japan, consumer attitudes and behaviors are finally moving toward high North American and European levels of demands for CSR.