There is a growing expectation of increased sustainability and social efforts
The events of the past two years have brought to the fore the issue of sustainability and social equality, and participants around the world lack results in these areas:
• 93 percent of people believe sustainability and social sensitivity are more important than ever, and 80 percent have been prompted by the events of the past two years to change their behaviour.
• 94% of the respondents believe that the society has not made sufficient progress. 42 percent say the lack of progress is because people are preoccupied with other priorities, 39 percent say it’s the result of people prioritizing short-term gains over long-term benefits, and 37 percent say people are too lazy or selfish. Help save the planet.
• 45 percent believe that companies can make a greater difference to sustainability and social issues than individuals or governments alone.
• 78 percent are frustrated and tired of companies making no progress yet, and 89 percent think it’s not enough for companies to say they prioritize environmental programs and equal opportunity – they want to see action and evidence.
• 84 percent believe that companies will make more progress toward sustainability and social goals through AI, and 61 percent say AI will be successful where people fail.
Human intolerance hinders change
Business leaders know that sustainability efforts and equal opportunity are essential to the success of companies, and they even have more faith in AI than people do when they need to manage sustainability and social efforts:
• 92 percent believe that environmental and social equity programs are essential to the success of their companies. Managers identified brand enhancement (40 percent), increased productivity (39 percent) and new customer acquisition (38 percent) as their top three benefits.
• 96 percent of business leaders acknowledge that biases and human emotions often distract from the ultimate goal, and 89 percent believe that organizations that use technology to promote sustainable business practices will be successful in the long run.
• 93 percent of business leaders will rely on AI instead of people if they have to make sustainability and social decisions. Bots are believed to be better able to flawlessly collect different types of data (43 percent); make rational and unbiased decisions (42 percent); and predicting future results based on past performance (41 percent).
• Additionally, business leaders believe that people are still essential to the success of sustainability and social initiatives because they are better at implementing change based on feedback from stakeholders (48 percent); in educating others about the information needed to make decisions (46 percent); and in making strategic decisions that are contextualized (42 per cent).
Consumers are separated from companies that do not take action on sustainability and social initiatives
Companies need to prioritize sustainability and social issues and rethink how they use technology to make an impact – or else they will face catastrophic consequences.
• 94 percent of people would like to see progress in these areas in particular: developing a healthier lifestyle (50 percent); saving the planet for future generations (49 percent); Reducing social inequalities around the world (46%).
• 70 percent of people would be willing to end a relationship with a brand that doesn’t take sustainability and social initiatives seriously, and up to 69 percent would leave their current company to work with a brand that focuses more on these efforts.
• If organizations can clearly demonstrate their progress on environmental and social issues, people will be more willing to pay more for their products and services (87 percent); would be more willing to invest in that company (83 percent); They prefer to work for this company (83 percent).
• Business leaders understand the importance and urgency – 94 percent believe that sustainability and social metrics should be used to inform traditional business metrics, and 91 percent want to increase their investment in sustainability.
“The events of the past two years have put sustainability and social initiatives at the center of attention, and people are calling for real change. While addressing these issues is a challenge, companies have a huge opportunity to make the world a better place.” said Pamela Rucker, SEO professional development consultant and coach at Harvard University. “The results show that people are more likely to do business and work with organizations that act responsibly towards society and the environment. This is a good time. As thinking has evolved, technology has evolved and many barriers to development can play a major role in overcoming an obstacle.”
“It has never been more important for companies to invest in sustainability and equal opportunity initiatives, because people don’t just want to hear about them — they want to take decisive action and demand more transparency and tangible results.” Said Jürgen Lindner, Senior Vice President and Director of Marketing, Oracle’s Global Marketing SaaS Division. “Business leaders understand the importance of this, but often mistakenly assume that they need to put profit or sustainability first. However, the truth is that this is not a zero-sum game. Technologies that organizations can use not only support communities and the environment, but also drive growth Significant revenue, cost savings and other benefits that affect the bottom line.”
methodology
The search results were published by Savanta, Inc. From February 25 to March 14, 2022 in 15 countries (US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, France, China, India, Australia, Japan, Singapore, South Africa, US. United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Brazil and Mexico) on a survey of 11,005 global participants. The survey examined the attitudes and behaviors of consumers and business leaders toward sustainability and social efforts, and the role and expectations of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) efforts.
