Chamber Survey Finds Economic Downturn Not Dampening Good Citizenship by American Businesses

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The United States Chamber of Commerce and Boston College today unveiled the first survey of its kind that shows that American businesses – regardless of their size – have an overall commitment to corporate citizenship and see it as a fundamental value.

"Good corporate citizenship is essential for every American business in today's complex society," said Suzanne Clark, Chamber chief operating officer and president of the Center for Corporate Citizenship. "The survey confirms that companies care about ethics and about contributing to their communities."

The survey, "The State of Corporate Citizenship in the United States: 2003," polled more than 500 small, medium and large companies and found that a majority of them believe that good corporate behavior is good for their bottom line. The research also suggested that in addition to traditional corporate citizenship efforts – such as job training, community economic development and educational investments – companies are increasingly involved in addressing global challenges like environmental management, poverty and human rights.

"Corporate citizenship is widely misunderstood and poorly defined, yet we know it is increasingly a differentiator on many dimensions and companies care and think about it when doing business," said Dr. Bradley Googins, executive director of the Center for Corporate Citizenship at Boston College, which partnered with the Chamber on the study. "Corporate reputation, ability to attract and retain an engaged workforce, and a basic license to operate are just a few examples of why companies are engaging in corporate citizenship. This survey is a critical first step in understanding the motivations and practices that U.S. companies use to define corporate citizenship at a time when expectations are increasing for business to better define their role in society."

The survey's key findings included:

• Why are they doing it? Corporate citizenship is driven largely by internal corporate values (75 percent) and customer feedback (53 percent).
• What does the future hold? More than 80 percent of the surveyed companies believe that good corporate citizenship helps the bottom line and 74 percent believe that the public has the right to expect companies to act as good citizens.

"We intend this groundbreaking survey to move the conversation about business in society beyond abuse and scandal," observed Hitachi Foundation President and CEO Barbara Dyer. "We wanted to capture the nuances and complexity of corporate citizenship, especially within small and medium-sized businesses and see how businesses can make a real difference in distressed communities. About 1 in 5 businesses report in the survey one or more activities that assist hard-pressed communities. That's encouraging but business can do more in helping places that have remained adrift from the economic and social mainstream for far too long." The Hitachi Foundation funded the survey.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is the world's largest business federation representing more than three million businesses and organizations of every size, sector and region.

###

03-124

 The State of Corporate Citizenship (PDF)