Credit unions have the best reputation for sustainability among Ireland's largest, most familiar and important organisations in the latest RepTrak Sustainability Index, ahead of Glanbia, Fáilte Ireland, Lidl Ireland, and An Post.

None of the 100 organisations analysed in the index recorded a poor score, but nine posted a weak score, 47 an average score, 43 a strong score, and just one an excellent score -- credit unions.

The study, carried out by The Reputations Agency, highlights being a positive influence on society, improving the lives of others and being fair, ethical, open and transparent in the way you run your business are the most important sustainability factors in driving corporate reputation.

"Society expects organisations to play their part in the community, economy, environment, dealing with the big issues that we face today, not just in Ireland but globally," said Niamh Boyle, managing director of the Reputations Agency. 

"The results of the Ireland RepTrak Sustainability Index 2022, show us that the Irish Public perceives over half of the 100 organisations studied to be doing either an inadequate (9%) or fairly mediocre (47%) job in sustainability, while the remaining 43% are perceived to have robust sustainability strategies in play.  

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"We know that many organisations are working hard and investing more each year in their sustainability agendas, but they continue to struggle to achieve cut through and to really embed themselves in consumers’ minds as leaders in sustainability."

The data highlights that consumers are 2.3 times more likely to purchase from an organisation in the strong tier than from one in the weak tier, and nearly three times more likely to purchase from an organisation with an excellent sustainability score.

The study examines Ireland’s top performing organisations across 13 key sustainability drivers across environmental impact, social performance, conduct and workplace.

It measures the public's perception based on their experiences and communications touchpoints they have had with the organisation and how well they have absorbed organisations' sustainability strategies rather than their effectiveness.

Credit unions were boosted in the conduct and social, coming first in both pillars and fourth in workplace, and the public continues to appreciate the work credit unions do.

Some of the key themes that crop up amongst the Irish public are how fairly they treat their customers, their empathy in dealing with customers and the support they provide to their local communities.

"The fact that credit unions have been recognised by the public as having the best Sustainability reputation in Ireland is testament to the hard work of credit unions across the country in providing an excellent service day in and day out to their members," said Helene McManus, president of the Irish League of Credit Unions.

"Credit unions are already known for their ethical lending practices and the positive social impact they have on their local communities through sponsorship and support for local groups.

"Credit unions have been at the heart of Irish communities for over 60 years and today’s accolade is an acknowledgment of their positive influence on society and the special place they hold in the minds of Irish people.”

The index is based on the views of over 6,500 members of the public, who participated in an online survey for between January and March.

For the first 10 years of the study, the Reputations Agency has used nine indicators to make its rankings, but this year the sustainability/ESG model has been augmented to introduce four new factors.

Just two of the 13 factors received a strong score on average across the 100 organisations -- positive influence on society and rewards employees fairly.

The Reputations Agency said to win support, organisations need their sustainability strategies and initiatives to touch, impact and influence the public across direct experiences, communications channels, and positive word of mouth.

Second-placed Glanbia placed first in environmental impact and impressed with how transparent it is about targets and achievements at their sites and through its supply chain as well as clarity of messaging around supporting farmers to become more sustainable.

The public also sees Glanbia’s economic impact in rural areas, supporting suppliers and providing high quality jobs in a fair, inclusive, and progressive work environment. 

Third-placed Fáilte Ireland was praised for supporting the tourism industry and Ireland as a competitive tourism destination while strengthening Ireland's appeal to domestic tourists.

“Organisations are widely scrutinised on their alignment with social causes, their environmental impact, their behaviour, their values, and the internal culture they create," Boyle added.

"We know that sustainability ... drives 51% of an organisation’s reputation but for many, their sustainability reputation is holding their overall corporate reputation back. These more intangible drivers and factors are now more important to an organisation’s reputation than the products or services an organisation sells.

“The key learnings from our study this year were that a clear sense of purpose should be at the core of any organisation’s sustainability strategy. Leaders have a key role to play in guiding their organisations towards that sense of purpose."

Photo: (l-r) Niamh Boyle and Helene McManus. (Pic: Naoise Culhane)