Half of Canadians are willing to take a pay cut to be able to work for a socially responsible company, according to a new poll.

Of those Canadians, eight per cent said they would be willing to take a pay cut of 10 per cent or more, another 43 per cent would take a pay cut of less than 10 per cent, said the Abacus Data National Poll, sponsored by Algonquin College.

"Canadians are changing the way they are thinking and businesses are trying to adapt to meet these 21st century expectations," said Dave Donaldson, Dean, School of Business, Algonquin College.

Only 31 per cent of Canadians rated corporations are either excellent or good when it comes to being socially responsible, 42 per cent said they were neither good nor poor, 16 per cent were poor and three per cent were very poor.

Are Canadians willing to pay more for products from a socially responsible company? The answer seems to be yes, as over six in 10 Canadian are willing to pay more for a product from a socially responsible company, with an average of $8.62 on a $100 product or service. Younger Canadians are willing to pay more, as are those over 70. Here is a breakdown by age and how much more they are willing to pay: 18 to 29 - $11.88, 30 to 39 - $8.32, 40 to 49 - $7.56, 50 to 59 - $7.76, 60 to 69 - $7.70, 70 and over - $8.70. Women are more willing to spend more than men, $10.11 versus $7.03, respectively.

While most Canadians want to work for and/or buy from a social responsible company, only 21 per cent can name one, and only one company was named by more than one per cent of respondents. Additionally, only 49 per cent of those polled knew what social responsible means.

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