About 91 percent of consumers surveyed recently said that protecting the environment is the cause they personally care the most about.

That leads improving the quality of health care (89 percent) and reducing poverty (87 percent), according to the GoodPurpose study by Edelman.

In a related finding, 82 percent of those surveyed said they were more likely to trust a company more for making progress on environmental initiatives. That was the seventh-ranking trust item, with the leading vote going to companies that trust their employees.