A survey of corporate social impact professionals responsible for nearly $1 billion in community investments released by the Association of Corporate Citizenship Professionals (ACCP) and Your Cause from Blackbaud finds that despite considerable attention to corporate diversity initiatives, 96% of respondents report either no change (83%) or an increase (13%) in their companies’ commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The far-reaching survey of 125 major corporations covers topics ranging from impact of new SEC climate reporting rules, C-suite commitment to CSR, ESG, and DEI initiatives, a continued rise in employee volunteerism, evolution and impact of new technologies, and diversification of the social impact profession.
“Our survey sends a clear signal that despite an intense political environment, DEI, CSR, and ESG programs progress as executives continue to strongly support the work given the business advantage they provide,” says Carolyn Berkowitz, president and CEO of ACCP. “96% of the companies that responded to our survey report their companies’ commitment to DEI remains strong, although they are mitigating risk by adjusting how they communicate about the work and encouraging legal review of existing programs. It is good news for the profession as budgets, staffing, and leadership’s commitment remain flat or increase, despite a politically turbulent backdrop and intense scrutiny.”
Although there is continued commitment by corporate leaders to stand firmly in support of their company’s CSR, ESG, and DEI initiatives, they are demanding an enhanced focus on measuring the impact of their companies’ social impact work to fully understand the positive contributions the initiatives have on business. In fact, 71% of those surveyed report an increase in demand from executives to measure the impact of their work, up from 54% in 2023.
Another positive development for corporate commitments to DEI remaining strong in the long-term, the survey reports an 11% decrease in the level of concern corporate social impact professionals have about the impact of last year’s Supreme Court affirmative action ruling. Only 25% report concern about the future of DEI initiatives, compared to 34% last year.
Half (50%) of respondents remain unclear on the implications of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) recent announcement on climate change reporting requirements. The fear, experts have inferred, is that increased reporting requirements detracts from resourcing impactful social impact programs. In fact, 35% of respondents have witnessed more resources going towards ESG reporting or reporting technology.
