We know where many chief executives are now. In a snowy Alpine resort thinking big thoughts. But where were they over the past few months? Answer: locked in their offices, responding to multiple-choice questions, if the avalanche of Davos-pegged surveys is anything to go by.

I’ve ranted about such surveys before. Business leaders who participate tell me they find them tedious. They inevitably reach roughly the same conclusions (this year – surprise – “It’s gloomy out there”). Yet still they’re rolled out, and still they get written about (yes, by the FT, too).

The World Economic Forum – captive elite audience, massive press corps, low quotient of breaking news – is catnip to the pollsters who carry them out, and the companies that back them. So if you don’t want to risk a broken leg, snow-blindness and schmooze-fatigue by trekking to the Alps, here, as a public service, is my Top 10 of Davos surveys, ranked by number of respondents. I make no apologies for using the headlines from these polls’ press releases.  Follow the links and dig into the data if you wish, but always remember: this isn’t science, it’s PR.

1. Nearly a third of companies say sustainability is contributing to their profits (MIT Sloan Management Review-Boston Consulting Group – more than 2,800 corporate leaders from “every major industry and region of the world”)

2. 9 of 10 executives report economic crisis negatively impacts their ability to innovate (General Electric Global Innovation Barometer – 2,800 senior business executives across 22 countries)

3. CEOs say prospects gloomy for global economy (PwC 15th annual Global CEO Survey – 1,258 interviews, 60 countries)

4. Globalisation continues to advance despite uncertain economic outlook (Ernst & Young’s Globalization Index - 1,000 business executives)

5. Asian companies set to benefit from the eurozone crisis (FTI Eurozone Poll - 800 business leaders in Asia, the Middle East and North America)

6. Majority of companies say they must rethink their capabilities to secure growth in emerging markets (Accenture’s Fast Forward to Growth report - 588 business leaders in 85 countries)

7. Economic and social turmoil risk reversing the gains of globalisation (World Economic Forum Global Risks 2012 - 469 experts and industry leaders)

8. Global executives say companies should be measured by their societal purpose (Deloitte survey - 390 executives)

9. Majority of global experts now fear looming geopolitical disruption as world leaders head to Davos (World Economic Forum’s Risk Response Network and Global Agenda Councils Global Confidence Index - 345 experts from business, government, international organisations and academia)

And finally, not a survey of what world leaders think of the world but what the rest of the world thinks of world leaders…

10. Trust in government suffers a severe breakdown across the globe: credibility of government officials and CEOs experience biggest drops ever (2012 Edelman Trust Barometer - 25,000 general population respondents with an oversample of 5,600 informed publics across 25 countries)

(Update, January 25, 4pm, : I’ve promoted E&Y to number 4, having just noticed that its survey sample is larger than FTI’s. )