More than seven out of 10 ( 72%) marketing professionals judge a potential new employer by its CSR reputation and almost one in four ( 22%) consider it as a very important factor in their decision according to research from specialist marketing recruiter EMR.  

Among the companies that stand out for their CSR achievements, Marks & Spencer – with its wide-ranging Plan A programme of sustainability – is the most recognised ( 21%), followed by the Co-operative ( 20%), the BBC ( 17%) and Sainsbury’s ( 14%). The choices were taken from the 2013 BITC Corporate Responsibility Index consumer brands.

The research by EMR among 440 marketing professionals found that the majority of marketers ( 56%) think spending on local community projects is the best use of CSR budgets. Almost one in five ( 19%) favoured environmental projects, while contributions to charities or not-for-profit organisations ( 13%) were preferred over funding global health projects ( 12%).

The research also found that the average FTSE 100 company channelled 11% more finance toward CSR initiatives in 2013 than in 2011.

Two years ago FTSE firms spent an average £12.5m on CSR, equivalent to just 0.5% of pre-tax profits. By comparison in 2013 CSR spending among FTSE companies averaged £13.9m – equivalent to 0.8% of pre-tax profits. But, with earnings down by 3% in 2013, both figures are down from 2012 when firms typically spent £16.6m on CSR or 0.9% of pre-tax profits.

Oil, gas and mining businesses make the biggest financial contribution to CSR, spending £35.4m on average in the past year: 2.5 times the norm of £13.9m among the FTSE 100. Leisure and retail firms commit the greatest share of pre-tax profits at 1.8%: more than double the FTSE 100 average of 0.8%.