Romanians consider that caring for employees, green buildings, digital sustainability and community involvement are the most important social and environmental responsibility principles that companies should apply in their work, according to a Reveal Marketing Research study.
This is the second edition of Reveal Marketing Research’s study on Romanians’ perceptions, attitudes and behaviors related to sustainability. The research was conducted online in August on a sample of 1,015 respondents, aged 18+ in Romania, internet users. The maximum sampling error for the overall target is +/-3.1% at a 95% confidence level. The survey was conducted in collaboration with Stefanini Group, BIC, CIPRA Association, Kaufland Romania, PRO TV and Volkswagen Romania.
Around 77% of respondents believe that caring for employees, by prioritizing them and promoting diversity and inclusion, is the most important principle in the work of community-present companies, while in second place are digital sustainability, green buildings and community engagement (74%). In last place are measures to educate and raise awareness among employees and the public (73%) and the zero-emissions policy, which involves environmentally friendly technologies and a supply chain with ethical and sustainable practices (72%).
The majority of respondents believe that not enough action is being taken on these principles
The majority of respondents agree that not enough action is being taken on any of these principles, with digital sustainability being the principle where most action is taken (15%), and the least action being taken when it comes to employee care, education measures and community engagement (13%).
Digital sustainability, which involves data security and privacy policies, is an important principle especially for modern families (76%) and single people (76%), while Generation Z and traditional families attach the least importance to this principle (72%). However, traditional families (19%) and Generation Z (18%) feel that this is an area in which companies are most engaged.
When it comes to perceptions of corporate social responsibility and corporate involvement in sustainability, social and environmental issues, consumers are ambivalent.
67% of respondents say they have a better opinion of companies that publicize how they engage with society
On the one hand, there is a positive perception of companies that adhere to sustainability principles: 67% of respondents say they have a better opinion of companies that communicate the ways in which they care about social and environmental issues, 65% would recommend a company perceived to be committed to these issues, and 62% of consumers feel they benefit directly when a company is concerned about sustainability. Only 43% of respondents (the lowest attitude score measured) feel that corporate social responsibility receives too much attention.
The least relevant are technological solutions for biodiversity conservation (72%), the use of technologies in actions with a direct impact on quality of life (68%) and electric transport solutions (64%).
Who values innovative technologies
Modern families, retirees and seniors attach the highest importance to innovative technologies, while Generation Z is at the opposite pole.
The company’s annual sustainability report provides the latest information on the company’s corporate responsibility policies and initiatives.
Stefanini Global received a Bronze EcoVadis label this year in recognition of the company’s sustainability initiatives and performance. EcoVadis, the world’s leading provider of business sustainability assessments, measures the sustainability performance of companies around the world and covers CSR topics grouped into four categories: environment, labor and human rights, ethics and sustainable procurement.
“Our culture is based on the idea of internal and external community, but also on a sense of belonging, and that is why our social responsibility initiatives are based on these pillars: internal and external community and care for the environment. Thus, we are determined to look for ways to minimize our impact on the environment, while providing the best services and contributing to the development of communities. We are pleased to see that efforts to improve digital sustainability in recent years are reflected in the responses of Romanians, who are aware of the importance of the digital sector for sustainable development. However, it is clear that there is room for improvement in all areas explored in the survey and we want to set an example of what a sustainable future in IT solutions can look like”, said Farlei Kothe, CEO Stefanini EMEA.
