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Canadian shareholders support social responsibility
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A new poll suggests that three-quarters of Canadian shareholders want business executives to consider the social impact of their operations. The poll, conducted by Vector Research for the Canadian Democracy and Corporate Accountability Commission, found that 74 per cent of shareholders agreed with the statement that “executives have a responsibility to take into account the impact their decisions have on employees, local communities and the country as well as making profits.” Only 20 per cent of shareholders agreed that “executives have only one responsibility, to operate competitively and make profits.” The percentage of shareholders agreeing that corporations have social responsibility was slightly higher than the population as a whole (74 per cent versus 72 per cent). “As globalization increases corporate influence, Canadians believe corporations should be socially accountable for their actions,” said Avie Bennett, chair of McClelland and Stewart and commission co-chair. The Commission, supported with foundation funding, held hearings earlier this year to investigate policy options dealing with growing corporate power. Contrary to the popular view that shareholders are concerned about financial returns to the exclusion of social responsibility, the poll findings suggest that Canadian shareholders are quite concerned about corporate social performance. Just over half of all Canadians said that they want their pension plans to invest in companies with a good record of social responsibility. Fifty-one per cent agreed with the statement that they want a pension plan that “invests in companies with a good record of social responsibility even if it resulted in somewhat lower benefits for yourself.” Only 36 per cent agreed that their pension fund should invest in “companies that make the highest profits and gives the fund the highest return on its investment.” More women (54 per cent) than men (47) per cent are more likely to prefer socially responsible pension plans. The poll, released Jan. 9, is based on telephone interviews conducted between Sept. 28 and Oct. 9 with 2006 adults 18 and older throughout the country. The complete poll results are available at www.corporate-accountability.ca.
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