Cost management main driver for Malaysian Businesses to practice CSR activities
Kuala Lumpur, 6 June 2011: An altruistic desire to preserve the natural environment remains low on the agenda of businesses according to the 2011 Grant Thornton International Business Report. Just 36% of businesses globally are motivated to move to more ethical practices by a desire to 'save the planet', down from 40% in 2008. However, businesses remain focused on the merits of corporate social responsibility (CSR) in terms of building brand, securing key staff and winning future contracts. Globally, 56% of businesses cite public attitudes/brand building and recruitment/retention of staff as the key drivers (alongside cost management) this year, highlighting the importance of public opinion in shaping businesses' CSR priorities. In Malaysia, business owners responded that cost management is the main purpose of implementing more ethical business practices, +79%. This is followed by public attitudes/ building brand with +71% cited as one of the key drivers and recruitment and retention of staff, +63%.
When asked about the efforts that business owners in Malaysia have done in the past year, +85% of them responded that they have actively promoted diversity/equality at work. +79% of businesses have provided internships/apprenticeships/work experience and also +79% of businesses improved energy efficiency. This is followed closely by actively promoting workforce health and wellbeing and improved waste management, +77% respectively. As businesses in mature markets continue to grapple with sluggish growth, businesses in emerging economies appear most concerned with reducing their impact on the environment: 60% of the BRIC nations and 59% of those in the ASEAN group cite saving the planet as a driver towards more ethical business practices, compared to just 30% in the EU and 27% in North America.
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Managing Partner of SJ Grant Thornton, Dato’ N.K. Jasani said: "In an increasingly crowded and dynamic marketplace, businesses globally are becoming more aware that adopting a proactive approach to wider corporate social responsibility issues can help them to stand out in the minds of employees, consumers and potential partners.
"Businesses and indeed consumers, in mature economies struggle with the fallout from the economic downturn, altruistic concerns over the environment have been forced into a backseat role. On the contrary, businesses in emerging markets, as we have seen with the wider global economy appear ready to take the initiative in driving the CSR agenda forward."
Meanwhile, levels of CSR activity undertaken in relation to the environment, workforce and wider community vary significantly across the globe. Businesses in northern Europe and Africa, together with much of North America and the Asia-Pacific region lead the way in initiating socially responsible practices, with those in mainland Europe lagging behind.
Dato’ Jasani added: "All businesses should look closely at the potential commercial benefits of reporting their CSR activity. A competitive advantage exists for those businesses which can demonstrate leadership in implementing socially responsible and transparent practices and seize the opportunity to attract and retain skilled workers, build brand value and secure future contracts with multinationals who frequently adopt strict CSR guidelines in selecting their suppliers."
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For further information please contact:
Sharon Sung
Executive Director, Technical & Corporate Affairs
T +603 2692 4022
E sharonsung@gt.com.my
Notes to editors
About SJ Grant Thornton:
SJ Grant Thornton is a member firm of Grant Thornton International Ltd and provides assurance, tax, corporate finance, restructuring and other specialist services to private and public listed companies. With four offices across Malaysia – Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Johor Bahru and Kuantan, and access to more than 2600 partners in over 100 countries worldwide, we have invaluable local expertise supported by global reach.
About Grant Thornton International:
Grant Thornton International is one of the world's leading organisations of independently owned and managed accounting and consulting firms providing assurance, tax and specialist advisory services to privately held businesses and public interest entities. Clients of member and correspondent firms can access the knowledge and experience of more than 2600 partners in over 100 countries and receive the same distinctive, high quality and personalised service wherever they choose to do business.
Grant Thornton International strives to speak out on issues that matter to business and which are in the wider public interest and to be a bold and positive leader in its chosen markets and within the global accounting profession.
About IBR:
The Grant Thornton International Business Report (IBR) provides insight into the views and expectations of over 11,000 businesses per year across 39 economies. This unique survey draws upon 19 years of trend data for most European participants and nine years for many non-European economies. For more information, please visit: www.internationalbusinessreport.com.
Data collection
The research is carried out primarily by telephone interview lasting approximately 15 minutes with the exception of Japan (postal), Philippines and Armenia (face to face), mainland China and India (mixture of face-to-face and telephone) where cultural differences dictate a tailored approach. Telephone interviews enable Grant Thornton International to conduct the exact number of recommended interviews and to be certain that the most appropriate individuals are interviewed in an organisation which meets the profile criteria.
Data collection is managed by Grant Thornton International's core research partner - Experian Business Strategies. Questionnaires are translated into local languages with each participating country having the option to ask a small number of country specific questions in addition to the core questionnaire. From 2011, fieldwork takes place on a quarterly basis every quarter with fieldwork lasting approximately one month and a half.
Sample
IBR is a survey of medium to large privately held businesses*, researching the opinions of over 2,700 businesses globally each quarter, and over 11,000 per year.
In Q1 2011, the IBR Quarterly Economic Update data will consist of:
- Q1 quarterly update figures collected in February 2011
- rolling average data combining data collected in Q4 2010 and Q1 2011
The target respondents are chief executive officers, managing directors, chairmen or other senior executives (title dependent on what is most appropriate for the individual country) from 39 economies primarily across five sectors: manufacturing (25 per cent), services (25 per cent), retail (15 per cent and construction (10 per cent) with the remaining 25 per cent spread across all sectors.
Locally, the sample tends to cover the sectors mentioned previously, with some countries being able to have local valid data for specific sectors or regions when the sample size is large enough.
*some counties may include a small proportion of listed businesses in their sample when reporting locally.
Who to Contact
Technical & Corporate Affairs
T +603 2692 4022
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