Extremely Important For Businesses To Be Open And Honest About Their Government Engagement Say New Zealanders

As the country goes to the polls, an independent Ipsos survey of New Zealanders gives a clear message that it is extremely important for businesses to be open and honest about their government engagement.

Nearly three quarters (72%) of the 1,002 people surveyed said it was extremely important for businesses to be open and honest in their government engagement if they want to be seen as good corporate citizens.

Similarly, around two thirds (63%) do not trust that relations between businesses and the government are being conducted ethically if businesses are not transparent about what they are doing.

Further, 77% believe that for government lobbying to be good, it needs to be undertaken openly.

According to the survey, almost three quarters of New Zealanders (73%) said they would feel better if they could see a company had been independently verified as being open and transparent about government engagement.

The good news for companies that become independently verified as open and transparent in their government engagement is that two thirds of New Zealanders (66%) would be more likely to invest in these companies and nearly two thirds (62) would be more likely to buy from them.

The research shows New Zealanders would most like to see banks and investment companies (61% of respondents), electricity and gas suppliers (51%) and insurance companies (50%) getting an independent accreditation as being open and transparent in their government engagement.

The survey was commissioned by Openly and conducted by global market research leader Ipsos over August 22-24, 2023, and has a maximum margin of error of 3.1%

Launching soon, Openly is a world-first accreditation and education platform that will support and champion corporations committed to integrity when engaging government.

Founder Nick Booth believes that Openly has the potential to significantly benefit planet, people and business.

“The policy challenges of our time – whether relating to climate change, biodiversity, cost of living – will only be met with open, ethical and accountable corporate-government interaction.”

“On the eve of an election, the Ipsos research reflects what sort of behaviour New Zealanders expect from companies that engage government.”

“This research shows that New Zealanders are ascribing value to corporate conduct in government engagement - we can see that investors and consumers will reward good behaviour and punish bad.”

Openly will help businesses to unlock this value and thereby support sustainable policy-making.

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