Analysis: New polling on ESG issues will give politicians pause
New polling suggests the UK public are unconvinced by Government’s work on climate change – and what business can do about it if political heavyweights aren’t leading the charge. Here, Daisy Powell-Chandler – Head of Energy and Environment at pollster and analysis firm Public First – lays out the challenge.
Anyone wondering why the Johnson Government keeps ‘banging on’ about climate change should take a peek at how the public thinks business and Government should interact on these topics.
The British public very clearly differentiates between areas in which they think business should take the lead on solving sustainability issues (employee health and safety, job creation, responsible sourcing of raw materials) and those where they want to see government leadership (climate change, closing tax loopholes and minimum pay standards). Broadly, the Government is responsible for most environmental issues.
Consumers feel exceedingly pessimistic about environmental matters, but also dubious about the willingness of companies to change their behaviour for the better without Government intervention. They also doubt the ability of consumers to make informed choices that push companies to do better.
Read more: Countdown to COP26 – how 2021 is a “make or break” year in the fight against climate change
They are right to doubt: only 35% of British adults would feel confident explaining the term ‘net zero’ to a stranger; 16% say they’ve never heard the phrase before. A fifth of Britons feel entirely disenfranchised from the debate around sustainability and think that even the ‘easiest’ steps to buying greener or more ethical feel at all realistic or accessible.
Better labelling and transparency by businesses can help with these issues but on the big environmental challenges – and climate change is top of the list – voters expect the Government to step up.
Number 10 could gain some credit for recruiting businesses to the cause or enforcing better standards but they cannot shift the blame for failure on to corporates without first convincing the public that they have made an extraordinary effort to mitigate the impending disaster.
And why shouldn’t they make that effort? Not only does action on climate change have the virtue of being the right thing to do, it also politically uncontentious, and important to the centrists that the Tories needs to keep on board if their majority is to hold next time. Even in the midst of grim lockdown 3, UK adults ranked climate change as one of most important issues facing the country, placing it almost level with Brexit and healthcare.
Perhaps more appealing in Camp Boris, climate action is “Global Britain” leading the charge. A chance to write the rules that will shape international efforts for decades to come. And the tide is in our favour. Carbon taxes – until now the preserve of geeks and weirdos – are suddenly flavour of the month at the G20 and among big American industries. China has committed to phasing out coal.
The G7 in Cornwall passed by with very little achieved on climate, and if the same happens at COP26 then the public will hold Boris accountable for failing on one of the major challenges of his term.
But if he brings delivers a meaningful deal – perhaps on the scale of 2015’s Paris Accords – the electoral payoff could be nearly as transformative as achieving net zero itself.