For most Americans, a company’s sustainability agenda matters for their consumption (70 percent) and job search (60 percent) decisions. This is what more than 2,000 US respondents told us in a recent survey conducted jointly with The Harris Poll. While behavior might differ from expressed preferences, these statements confirm people’s interest in corporate sustainability initiatives and thus the importance of corporate communications about them. US consumers give companies credit for their progress on sustainability. Half of the Americans we surveyed say companies are improving sustainability efforts such as reducing emissions, conserving natural resources, and collaborating with governments on addressing social and environmental issues. A notable 58 percent think that “companies are treating their employees and suppliers increasingly well.”
The next challenges for sustainability communications are to share more information about labor practices with both consumers and other stakeholders, such as investors and boards, and to build trust in sustainability messages.
Insights for What’s Ahead
Only half of Americans think that companies are reporting on their sustainability initiatives truthfully without exaggerating their impact. Therefore, a critical challenge for sustainability communicators is to build trust with consumers and other stakeholders such as investors and boards in their sustainability messaging.
In an effort to translate technical terms into easy-to-understand language (e.g., “eco-friendly,” “good for you,” “green”) for audiences that aren’t ESG experts, companies might sometimes accidentally evoke perceptions of greenwashing. Such simplified messages might even invite legal action about sustainability claims considered unreasonable. This highlights the challenge of using consumer-friendly wording while not losing trust or potentially facing legal consequences. To preempt this risk, there has been more discussion about staying quiet regarding sustainability goals and action to not risk scrutiny or dislike, a tactic known as greenhushing. However, this might forgo benefits that companies could reap from various stakeholders. The key might be for marketing, communications, sustainability, and legal teams to work closely together to create sustainability communications that build brand value and preempt legal risks.
US consumers give companies positive feedback on their sustainability initiatives, but there’s still room to improve
Segments more interested in sustainability, including millennial, urban, and Hispanic consumers, view companies’ sustainability actions and communications more positively. Thus, companies may want to prioritize such segments for communicating their sustainability agenda.
Consumers who are enthusiastic about sustainability have greater trust in sustainability communications and are also interested in more corporate workplace-related information. The varied perceptions by segment suggest that paying attention to corporate sustainability communications and subjective interpretation might play a role. With these variations in segments, companies may not be able to please everyone with one message and might want to prioritize sustainability-enthusiastic segments as key target audiences for sustainability communications. For market segments less interested in sustainability, it may be more appropriate to make the sustainability message less prominent or even mute it to preempt dislike—a corporate practice known as greenhushing.
Segments more (less) interested in sustainability tend to trust corporate sustainability communications more (less), suggesting the subjectivity of perceptions
Despite advances, there is room to improve sustainability communications. Apart from enhancing the trust in corporate sustainability claims, this includes sharing more information on workplace- and employee-related topics.
About half of Americans assess companies’ sustainability communications favorably. The share is higher for the sustainability-enthusiastic millennial, urban, and Hispanic segments. According to our respondents, the biggest communications improvements companies could make is to share more information on workplace- and employment-related topics. This could have a financial benefit: our research has found that treating employees well is the top US consumer motivation for buying sustainable products, above environmental ones.
Consumers who feel best informed about a company’s environmental actions are most likely to want more information on labor practices
Consumers widely perceive that “companies are treating their employees and suppliers increasingly well” (58 percent overall, ranging from 52 percent for Black Americans to 67 percent for urban consumers). Still, 65 percent of Americans are interested in more information about labor practices, consistent with a growing interest by investors and other stakeholders in such disclosures.
Apart from a general trend of people wanting corporate transparency, the tight labor market might foster more scrutiny of potential employers. Black consumers are least likely to recognize improving corporate treatment of employees and suppliers, and they are among the segments most interested in more information on companies’ labor practices. Fittingly, these cohorts are among those targeted by corporate diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The boomer generation seems least engaged on this topic. Fewer feel well informed and fewer want more information, compared to other segments. This might be due to their generally lower interest in sustainability, their own corporate experience, or their retirement status.
Expectations about human capital management transparency by regulators, investors, consumers, and employees are growing, challenging sustainability communicators to disclose more, as highlighted in our report, Telling the Human Capital Management Story: Toward a Strategic Competitive Advantage. Organizations should weigh the risks and benefits of such disclosure. Risks include comparisons by external parties of the company’s commitments vs its actions and how that information, once revealed, might benefit competitors at the expense of the company. Rewards for sharing the human capital story publicly include building trust and perceptions of authenticity. Communications about labor practices and metrics should be tailored to each audience, yet consistent.
Millennials and Gen Xers are more interested in information on labor practices than other segments
Methodology & The Conference Board + Harris Poll Collaboration
This report is the fourth of four reports from our survey of US consumer perceptions on corporate sustainability. The other reports include Changes in Consumers' Habits Related to Climate Change; Economic Downturn Creates Additional Hurdle for Purchasing Sustainable Products, Requiring a Rethink of Pricing Approach; and Top Sustainability Features for US Consumers: Socially Responsible Labor Practices and Human Rights.
The survey is a collaboration between The Conference Board and The Harris Poll. It builds on related research in 2021, including Sustainability Features That Sway US Consumers Are Changing and US Consumers Want Business to Do More on Sustainability. The current survey ran in the US from September 2 to 4, 2022, and yielded responses from 2,025 adults. Results are weighted to represent the US adult population.
We greatly appreciate the ongoing partnership with Rob Jekielek, Managing Director at The Harris Poll, who made this research possible.
For most Americans, a company’s sustainability agenda matters for their consumption (70 percent) and job search (60 percent) decisions. This is what more than 2,000 US respondents told us in a recent survey conducted jointly with The Harris Poll. While behavior might differ from expressed preferences, these statements confirm people’s interest in corporate sustainability initiatives and thus the importance of corporate communications about them. US consumers give companies credit for their progress on sustainability. Half of the Americans we surveyed say companies are improving sustainability efforts such as reducing emissions, conserving natural resources, and collaborating with governments on addressing social and environmental issues. A notable 58 percent think that “companies are treating their employees and suppliers increasingly well.”
The next challenges for sustainability communications are to share more information about labor practices with both consumers and other stakeholders, such as investors and boards, and to build trust in sustainability messages.
Insights for What’s Ahead
Only half of Americans think that companies are reporting on their sustainability initiatives truthfully without exaggerating their impact. Therefore, a critical challenge for sustainability communicators is to build trust with consumers and other stakeholders such as investors and boards in their sustainability messaging.
In an effort to translate technical terms into easy-to-understand language (e.g., “eco-friendly,” “good for you,” “green”) for audiences that aren’t ESG experts, companies might sometimes accidentally evoke perceptions of greenwashing. Such simplified messages might even invite legal action about sustainability claims considered unreasonable. This highlights the challenge of using consumer-friendly wording while not losing trust or potentially facing legal consequences. To preempt this risk, there has been more discussion about staying quiet regarding sustainability goals and action to not risk scrutiny or dislike, a tactic known as greenhushing. However, this might forgo benefits that companies could reap from various stakeholders. The key might be for marketing, communications, sustainability, and legal teams to work closely together to create sustainability communications that build brand value and preempt legal risks.
US consumers give companies positive feedback on their sustainability initiatives, but there’s still room to improve
Segments more interested in sustainability, including millennial, urban, and Hispanic consumers, view companies’ sustainability actions and communications more positively. Thus, companies may want to prioritize such segments for communicating their sustainability agenda.
Consumers who are enthusiastic about sustainability have greater trust in sustainability communications and are also interested in more corporate workplace-related information. The varied perceptions by segment suggest that paying attention to corporate sustainability communications and subjective interpretation might play a role. With these variations in segments, companies may not be able to please everyone with one message and might want to prioritize sustainability-enthusiastic segments as key target audiences for sustainability communications. For market segments less interested in sustainability, it may be more appropriate to make the sustainability message less prominent or even mute it to preempt dislike—a corporate practice known as greenhushing.
Segments more (less) interested in sustainability tend to trust corporate sustainability communications more (less), suggesting the subjectivity of perceptions
Despite advances, there is room to improve sustainability communications. Apart from enhancing the trust in corporate sustainability claims, this includes sharing more information on workplace- and employee-related topics.
About half of Americans assess companies’ sustainability communications favorably. The share is higher for the sustainability-enthusiastic millennial, urban, and Hispanic segments. According to our respondents, the biggest communications improvements companies could make is to share more information on workplace- and employment-related topics. This could have a financial benefit: our research has found that treating employees well is the top US consumer motivation for buying sustainable products, above environmental ones.
Consumers who feel best informed about a company’s environmental actions are most likely to want more information on labor practices
Consumers widely perceive that “companies are treating their employees and suppliers increasingly well” (58 percent overall, ranging from 52 percent for Black Americans to 67 percent for urban consumers). Still, 65 percent of Americans are interested in more information about labor practices, consistent with a growing interest by investors and other stakeholders in such disclosures.
Apart from a general trend of people wanting corporate transparency, the tight labor market might foster more scrutiny of potential employers. Black consumers are least likely to recognize improving corporate treatment of employees and suppliers, and they are among the segments most interested in more information on companies’ labor practices. Fittingly, these cohorts are among those targeted by corporate diversity, equity & inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The boomer generation seems least engaged on this topic. Fewer feel well informed and fewer want more information, compared to other segments. This might be due to their generally lower interest in sustainability, their own corporate experience, or their retirement status.
Expectations about human capital management transparency by regulators, investors, consumers, and employees are growing, challenging sustainability communicators to disclose more, as highlighted in our report, Telling the Human Capital Management Story: Toward a Strategic Competitive Advantage. Organizations should weigh the risks and benefits of such disclosure. Risks include comparisons by external parties of the company’s commitments vs its actions and how that information, once revealed, might benefit competitors at the expense of the company. Rewards for sharing the human capital story publicly include building trust and perceptions of authenticity. Communications about labor practices and metrics should be tailored to each audience, yet consistent.
Millennials and Gen Xers are more interested in information on labor practices than other segments
Methodology & The Conference Board + Harris Poll Collaboration
This report is the fourth of four reports from our survey of US consumer perceptions on corporate sustainability. The other reports include Changes in Consumers' Habits Related to Climate Change; Economic Downturn Creates Additional Hurdle for Purchasing Sustainable Products, Requiring a Rethink of Pricing Approach; and Top Sustainability Features for US Consumers: Socially Responsible Labor Practices and Human Rights.
The survey is a collaboration between The Conference Board and The Harris Poll. It builds on related research in 2021, including Sustainability Features That Sway US Consumers Are Changing and US Consumers Want Business to Do More on Sustainability. The current survey ran in the US from September 2 to 4, 2022, and yielded responses from 2,025 adults. Results are weighted to represent the US adult population.
We greatly appreciate the ongoing partnership with Rob Jekielek, Managing Director at The Harris Poll, who made this research possible.
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