Asia Pacific CEOs are investing in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) at a much faster rate than their global peers, says a global survey.
 
The IBM 2008 Global CEO Study found that 42% of Asian businesses will spend more on CSR over the next three years, compared to a global average of 25%.

Foreign-owned businesses in Greater China are investments in CSR even further to 52%. The CEO of one Chinese company said the firm had invested “twice as much in CSR and environment initiatives as we have in the previous 30 years combined.”

At the same time, 81% of APAC and 84% of Greater China CEOs said they had high expectations of CSR, compared to 69% globally, the report found.

The study underlines the very different business context in Asia-Pacific and in particular the sharply-growing awareness of environmental issues in mainland China and Hong Kong.

The number of Asian CEOs citing the environment as a major change driver has increased from 8% to 21% since 2004, the survey found. By comparison, just 12% of CEOs in the Americas regard it as an important change driver.

With talent in short supply, employers’ CSR reputations were an important tool to attract employees and was also critical to maintaining market share. “Consumers will increasingly make choices based on the sources of the products they buy, even the ingredients and processes used in making these products,” said one consumer products CEO.

Steven Davidson, an IBM Global Business Services vice-president, said Asia Pacific CEO see CSR “as a key and differentiating component of their business strategy.”

The study found that Asia-Pacific CEOs see substantial change ahead for their companies – 84% across Asia Pacific and 89% in Greater China – but they are more confident about their ability to manage change than their counterparts elsewhere.

The Global CEO Study was based on interviews with 1,130 CEOs conducted by IBM in late 2007 and early 2008.