Trust in business behaviour has nudged upwards slightly over the past year, but tax avoidance and executive pay remain the top issues business needs to address, according to the annual survey conducted for the Institute of Business Ethics (IBE)
Over half (52%) of those polled in a survey of more than 2,000 adults now say they consider that business behaves ethically, a slight recovery from last year’s dip (48%), but not yet back up to 2015 levels (59%).
The strength of negative opinion is also decreasing, with fewer people now saying that business behaves ‘not at all ethically’ (down from 9% in 2012 to 5% in 2017).
Since the survey began in 2003, the British public’s opinion has consistently leant more towards judging business as behaving ‘ethically’ than ‘not ethically’. However, last year, public opinion fell significantly, down 11 percentage points compared to 2015.
The top three issues that the public think business needs to address remain unchanged for a third consecutive year.
Tax avoidance has been one of the top two issues since it was first introduced in the survey in 2012, with 38% now considering this an issue that needs to be addressed, down from 43% last year.
Philippa Foster Back, IBE’s director, said: ‘Tax is a difficult and complex issue, but it isn’t going away. This year the Paradise and Panama Papers have thrown this issue even more into the spotlight. Companies need to do more to address public concern and communicate the circumstances behind the tax positions they decide to take.’
Executive pay also continues to be an issue, with 30% of the public thinking this still needs to be addressed (up from 28% last year).
Foster Back said: ‘Although there has been some movement on this issue by companies, as past shareholder approved policies take effect, it will still take time to move the dial. Naturally the public perception is that the changes are not quick enough.’
Attitudes of the British Public to Business Ethics – 2017 Survey is here.
Report by Pat Sweet
