2008 MPI Corporate Social
Responsibility Survey Summary
In October 2007, MPI conducted a survey on corporate social responsibility to a random group of MPI members. In November 2008, we
sent the same survey to a second random group to see what changes,
if any, have happened in regard to attitudes, understanding and practices in the community.
Key Business Drivers Remain the Same
In both 2007 and 2008, the top three perceived key business drivers
in the community are:
1. Personal commitment/conviction of organizational
leadership
2. Increasing customer demand
3. Decreasing costs
Awareness Increasing
From 2007 to 2008, we see an increased awareness of CSR issues and
of industry initiatives offered to address the issues. We also see an
increase in customer inquiries regarding CSR and a complementary
increase in organizational policy to support that increased demand.
In 2008, we see a positive trend occurring. Fewer people indicate
that they are not sure or not aware of CSR initiatives, both in general
and with regard to industry educational resources. When asked “How
aware are you with CSR issues in general,” in 2007 44% responded
that they had a good or high awareness. This increased to 48% in
2008.
How aware are you with meeting and event industry initiatives to
provide awareness and education on CSR initiatives: in 2007 25%
were either not sure or not aware. This decreased to 14.5% in 2008.
In 2007, 27% indicated they had a good or high awareness; in 2008,
this increased to 34%, an increase of 7 percentage points.
When asked “As a professional in the meetings and events industry,
how would you self-assess your knowledge of the CSR issues and opportunities that are facing the meetings and events industry,” in 2007
32% indicated that they had a good or high awareness. In 2008, this
increased by 8 percentage points to 40%. This indicates that although
awareness of CSR is rising only moderately, the industry is creating a
higher rate of awareness of available education and resources.
2008 MPI Corporate Social Responsibility Survey Summary
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Length of Time in Industry
There is some differentiation based on length of time in the industry. Those practitioners with less experience (or of a younger age
bracket, possibly) are more likely to agree that CSR is a good way
to market an organization; that they are willing to pay more for CSR
services; that it is an important strategy for the bottom line; and
that CSR is a strategic advantage. Assuming that those with less
years of experience are more likely to be in a younger age cohort,
we may see significant change in operations relating to CSR in the
future.
Across all experience levels there is general agreement that the
industry has a moral obligation to practice CSR and that CSR is just as
important for this industry as it is for other industries.
Geography
There is strong differentiation based on geography. Europeans indicate that they have a good to high awareness of CSR issues 65% of
the time as compared to 45% for North Americans. Europeans also
see a stronger advantage in using CSR to market their products and
services as compared to the USA and Canada and a correspondingly
higher competitive advantage. There is also a very strong geographical correlation with those who agreed or strongly agreed that CSR is
particularly important for the meeting industry because the industry
is so dependent on the destinations’ environment and society, with
74% in Europe, 58% in the US and only 47% in Canada agreeing or
strongly agreeing with this statement.
Asked if awareness and
concern about CSR issues
had an impact on your
business in 2008, North
Americans showed that
perhaps they were catching up with their European
counterparts, with 72%
of Canadians and 60%
of Americans agreeing
there was some impact or
transformational impact
on their business, as compared to 69% of Europeans.
Europeans are more likely
to have organizational
commitment to CSR as
expressed by comprehensive policies, with 40% of Europeans having these as compared to 28%
of Canadians and 25% of Americans.
2008 MPI Corporate Social Responsibility Survey Summary
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If your organization measured CSR elements in its meetings and
events, what would it want to measure?
CSR measurement also has a geographical bias, with Europe indicating the most important things to measure were energy, recycling and
waste; Canada indicating waste, recycling and cost savings; and the
USA indicating that cost saving was the top priority, followed by paper
use and then recycling.
USA
Canada
Europe
1
Cost Savings (86%)
Waste (79%)
Recycling
percentage (tie)
Energy (80%)
2
Paper use (82%)
3
Recycling
percentage (82%)
Recycling percentage (76%)
Cot savings (74%)
Waste (75%)
Planner / Supplier
Differences between planners and suppliers also exist. Suppliers are
more likely to say they have a good or high awareness of CSR issues as
opposed to planners (51% versus 45%). Perhaps unsurprisingly, suppliers
have a higher percentage of those who agree or strongly agree that
clients will pay more to support industry organizations that support
CSR (32% versus 22%) and are also more likely to agree that it will give
their organization a strategic advantage (57% versus 41%). Suppliers
are more likely to indicate that their organization has a comprehensive CSR program in place (34% versus 21%). Perceived drivers for CSR,
however, are similar, with each group indicating that the top two drivers were personal commitment/conviction of organizational leadership
and increasing stakeholder demand. Challenges to implementation are
the same: 1. Limited financial resources or support; 2. lack of clear
goals; and 3. lack of training.
Conclusion
There is growing awareness of corporate social responsibility within
the industry. This awareness is being matched by a higher number
of CSR policies being implemented. Differences exist by experience (and possibly by age), whether you are European, Canadian or
America, and whether you are a supplier or a planner.
Demographics
Type/Geography
Member Type
Total
Planner
Supplier
Student
Educator
Other
USA
Canada
Europe
Other
2007
274
60%
31%
1%
2%
7%
74%
10%
11%
5%
2008
516
48%
45%
1.5%
1%
4.5%
77%
8.5%
13%
1.5%
Years in Industry
<2 years
2-5 years
6-10 years
11-20 years
20+ years
2007
4%
14%
25%
39%
18%
2008
4%
13%
25%
33%
25%
2008 MPI Corporate Social Responsibility Survey Summary
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