Fleishman-Hillard and the National Consumers League, the nation's oldest consumer organization, present our second national research study to look at corporate social responsibility (CSR) through the eyes of the American public. This survey continues to shed new light on previously held beliefs regarding CSR by giving a diverse mix of Americans a voice in the debate.

Established definitions of CSR, for the most part, have focused largely on environmental concerns and philanthropic giving as top priorities. However, our survey again found that average Americans have different priorities. For the second year in a row, Americans expressed that employee treatment and active community engagement are the most important aspects of corporate social responsibility, whereas the environment ranked third among respondents' top CSR priorities.

Like last year's survey, we asked respondents to look at CSR from the perspectives of employees, consumers and investors. Since the survey's release, the country has been swept up in a national political shift, following the November 2006 midterm elections. With the Democrats having secured Congressional majority status, we wondered if Americans viewed CSR from a fourth perspective--as that of voters. Thus, this year's survey indicates the American public's perception of corporate social responsibility according to political party affiliation. The survey's political findings have been released at a May 9 panel discussion at Georgetown University, featuring Arianna Huffington of the HuffingtonPost.com, Jim Talent, former U.S. Senator (R-Mo.), Linda Golodner, president of the National Consumers League, columnist William Powers of the National Journal, and Patrick Cleary from the National Association of Manufacturers.

From a communications standpoint, people are primarily using the Web to search for and validate a company's record on social responsibility. The rising popularity of user-generated media and social networks has dramatically transformed the way people consume information and communicate about CSR.  Average Americans now share the same communications platform with the established players in this arena — academics, opinion elites, business leaders, government, and nongovernment organizations. Any employee, consumer, or investor now has the same ability, through the Internet, to enhance or damage a company's reputation.

This research reflects an exciting coming-of-age for consumers, as they are more empowered than ever to assess and react to corporate social responsibility issues. As the American public continues to refine its definition of corporate social responsibility and gain empowerment through online resources in their new role as activists for social change, companies, academics, and interest groups must re-evaluate the criteria they have established in this arena.

We hope you find the information on this Web site useful, and we hope in some capacity that it leads to a rethinking of corporate social responsibility in this country.

Linda Golodner
National Consumers League

Dave Senay
Fleishman-Hillard