This mirrors the trend globally, with similar proportions expecting CEOs to speak out on each of the five issues.
On another measure, 79 per cent of respondents in Singapore believe that CEOs are “obligated to pull advertising money from platforms that spread misinformation”, compared with a global average of 71 per cent.
About three quarters (76 per cent) said they believe CEOs are “obligated to defend facts and expose questionable science used to justify bad social policy”, compared with a global average of 72 per cent.
Similarly, more than two-thirds of the Singapore respondents, or 65 per cent, felt that companies could strengthen a country’s social fabric if they support politicians and media that build consensus and cooperation. Globally, those who feel this way make up 64 per cent.
Around the world, the Edelman survey found that people want more engagement from businesses, not less. Over half of the respondents (53 per cent) said that business was not doing enough to address climate change. Half said that businesses were not doing enough to address economic inequality and energy shortages.
In Singapore, the issue which most respondents felt businesses were not doing enough about was also climate change (52 per cent). Next came energy shortages (48 per cent) and economic inequality (45 per cent).
The survey also asked if businesses were overstepping on these social issues, but the responses were consistently low — with 4 to 8 per cent of respondents in Singapore saying that business could be overstepping.
Respondents were also asked if businesses can avoid being political when they address contentious societal issues. In Singapore, a majority (55 per cent) agreed that businesses can do so. This was not the case universally, with less than half of the respondents agreeing with the statement in 19 of 28 countries surveyed.
DESIRE FOR BUSINESSES TO WORK WITH GOVERNMENT
Overall, the survey indicated declining trust in governments around the world, with exceptions in China, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Singapore, India and Indonesia.
Correspondingly, the survey also found that people trusted governments less than businesses in the vast majority of countries surveyed.
Singapore was among the exceptions — 76 per cent of the respondents trusted the government, compared with 62 per cent for business.