Companies Build Public Trust Through Sustainability Reporting, New Research Shows

National polling from Hill+Knowlton Strategies reveals more than 4 in 5 Americans believe corporate efforts to be sustainable increase public trust, even when results fall short of goals

WASHINGTON–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Corporations have learned in recent years that their success depends heavily on public confidence. That confidence is driven not just by business performance, but also by an evolving set of factors that impact the public’s view of a business as a trustworthy entity.

A recent survey¹ conducted by Hill+Knowlton Strategies revealed that one of the more significant drivers of public confidence in a company is its commitment to sustainability, and its efforts to communicate about and deliver on that commitment. The global communications advisory firm defines the goal of corporate sustainability to be managing the environmental, economic and social effects of a corporation’s operations so it is profitable over the long-term while acting in a responsible manner to society.

“The takeaway is that corporations that report citizenship activities can gain a higher level of public trust and greater license to operate. Conversely, companies that report very little face a growing risk that incomplete disclosure is seen as an effort to deliberatively hide poor corporate governance and subpar operations,” said Robert Ludke, H+K Strategies senior vice president and head of the firm’s Governance+Sustainability practice.

The survey results showed a clear link between corporate communications around sustainability efforts and corporate performance and reputation. Among the key findings:

• 91 percent of respondents said they believe that it was important for corporations to behave sustainably in 2013 and beyond, and that such behavior was critical to companies’ long-term success;
• 81 percent believe companies should report on their sustainability efforts on an ongoing basis rather than through a static report;
• 82 percent believe that a company can regain public trust through an honest and transparent reporting of its efforts to be more sustainable, even if that reporting highlights where it falls short of its goals; and
• 84 percent believe greater visibility into corporate sustainability efforts will increase trust in a company.

“The expectation of sustainability springs from greater awareness and understanding of issues like climate change, water scarcity and income disparity — …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance