Study: Top companies shy away from ESG and CSR amidst global recession

Top companies pay less attention to corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) under global economic recession, as well as investing less in online awareness, according to a recent TEAM LEWIS study. 

TEAM LEWIS’s fifth Annual Global Marketing Engagement Index report, which has analysed the top 300 companies from the Forbes Global 2000 list using marketing engagement tracker (MET), a methodology that analyses marketing across 50 categories, aims to find out how effectively the top brands are connecting with their audiences.

The study revealed that there is evidence of a pull-back on corporate social responsibility (CSR) projects while environmental, social and governance (ESG) programmes are also being deprioritised or delayed. Top companies have less programmes on their website or mention less the use of renewable energy resources, or diversity and inclusion efforts. The relevant score has decreased from 65% in 2021 to 56% this year, according to the study. 

The scale of media content of companies’ website dropped from 56% in 2021 to 35% in 2022. It is estimated to be caused by the pull-back of original research and more companies suffering communications crises.

Furthermore, companies invest less in search engine marketing (SEM) and search engine optimisation (SEO), with the overall score of 47% this year, slightly decreased from 56% in 2021.

“These trends appear paradoxical, we see increased investment in user experience, yet a drop in SEO and SEM. There is no point in having a great user experience if nobody can find your website. Investment in online awareness should be increasing, not falling.” said Matt Robbins, vice president of insight and research at TEAM LEWIS.

Social presence increased from 55% in 2021 to 62% this year. User experience went up dramatically from 35% in 2021 to 61% this year. Website reporting scores increased from 26% in 2021 to 48%, while site security remained at 80%. 

“There is high inflation, but full employment (at present). This means businesses face the pressures of declining revenues and rising costs. This will lead to reputational problems whether they be workforce, environment or governance issues. Investment in these areas is being scaled back. It is a false economy. Brand reputation takes years to establish but can be lost quickly.” Robbins added.

In terms of the most engaging brands in APAC, DBS was identified as the most engaging APAC headquartered brand, followed by Toyota Motor and KIA. However, no APAC-headquartered organisations made it onto the global top 10. Microsoft was named the most engaging brand globally according to the Index.

Related articles:

National Youth Council appoints TEAM LEWIS for social and digital content duties
Team Lewis relocates Keso Kendall from HK to SG as new regional VP