Do corporate social responsibility ratings have any effect on traffic congestion?

Abstract

• Employs quantitative research and analysis methods. • Explores traffic congestion in light of CSR ratings and its translation to real-world outcomes. • An innovative idea on sustainable transportation and policy in CSR. • Enhancing CSR policy in mitigating traffic congestion is an area where private entities can have a significant local impact on a social issue affecting people, plant, and profit. Traffic congestion (TC) is a complex issue that has an adverse impact on the environment, business operations, livability, and health of a community. Supply-side TC mitigation measures increase transportation capacities while demand-side measures attempt to modify travel behavior so that the travel demand is reduced. As part of the demand-side, some corporations are investing in TC reduction through actions that contribute to improved walkability, reduced peak travel demand, and active commuting. While beneficial for their local communities, TC reduction efforts are not specifically tagged as a part of corporate social responsibility (CSR) endeavors. CSR involves reporting of a company’s stewardship towards its community and environmental impact. Research reflecting on the impact of CSR on TC has not been conducted. This study aims to fill this gap. Using corporations headquartered in the top traffic-congested cities in the United States, this study examines the relationship between TC and CSR. This research employed a hierarchical linear model with two datasets, Travel Time Index (TTI) and CSRHub ratings. Of the four CSR categories studied, community, employees, and environment ratings are significantly related to TTI, with employees and environment ratings having an inverse relationship to TTI. This shows that congestion has a strong impact on the environment and that companies, through their employee policies, can impact TC. The results also highlight the opportunities that companies have in potentially reducing their environmental impact by incorporating congestion reduction strategies as part of their CSR, either as a separate measure or as part of their environmental or employee CSR ratings. Our results are also a starting point for new tools/strategies that transportation policymakers and analysts can use to engage companies to help mitigate TC. A further study on other cities with major traffic problems may shed more light on CSR and TC.