Ellen Weinreb, president of Berkeley, Calif.-based Corporate Social Responsibility Consulting, has seen a sea change in the last several years in how PR is viewed in the
context of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).
Weinreb, who has worked with such clients as Edelman, HP, Levi Strauss and Nike (and also teaches a required ethics course to evening MBA students at UC Berkeley), calls them
"pressure points." To wit, at the time that PR departments were getting more involved in CSR plans in the mid- to late-1990s, the media were leaning on PR reps who were trying to
communicate CSR plans, provoked in part by the "sweatshop" accusations leveled against Nike and Kathie Lee Gifford during that period.
"PR was a dirty word and meant that companies were hiring somebody to cover up stories" and hide the truth, Weinreb says, adding that non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
piggybacked on the media's presumptions that CSR programs were nothing more than cynical attempts to cover things up. And from the perspective of corporate PR execs, NGOs,
particularly those with an adversarial bent, wanted nothing more than to pick fights with who they considered were their corporate nemeses. So PR execs started to lump together
all NGOs.
But there's been a shift in the last few years. Now, PR pros who communicate any information related to CSR programs are seen as doing the right thing. At the same time, PR
reps realize that NGOs are not a monolith. While many of them are indeed fueled by finger-pointing techniques, others want to genuinely work with companies - via a growing number
of corporate partnerships -- to tackle social and environmental problems. But it's crucial that the relationship not be based on simply throwing money at an organization but,
rather, making sure the company and the NGO share similar values.
"It's widely acceptable for corporations to be partnering with NGOs," Weinreb says, who pointed to the Global Reporting Initiative as a conduit to these types of relationships.
The initiative allows NGOs and corporations to develop standards and specific guidelines (by industry) for reporting CSR efforts.
And while there are no American laws mandating that companies divulge their social and environmental standards, the winds blowing from the east -- as a growing number of
European countries start to move in that direction -- could eventually change that.
A less hostile relationship between companies and NGOs, a push for global CSR standards and a potential regulatory wave for CSR were just three of the lessons that emerged from
a PR NEWS-sponsored Webinar last week titled "ROI on CSR: Developing Effective Corporate Social Responsibility Programs." The virtual seminar tackled many of the CSR topics that
senior PR execs are increasingly grappling with, as CSR moves into a more highly regarded zone of communications. These topics included creating and gaining buy-in from management
for a CSR program; best strategies for getting employees involved in (and inspired by) CSR and best practices for measuring CSR results.
Another theme that emerged from the Webinar: as PR execs get better at crafting CSR programs they have to make sure the plans (and execution) are not half-baked. "If not done
correctly [the programs] could breed the cynicism they are supposed to quell," said Sara Gavin, president of Weber Shandwick, Minneapolis, who counsels clients on CSR. "PR may be
vulnerable to window-dressing charges so it's not something that's grafted onto the company but is part of the root system." Both Gavin and Julie Hurbanis, a senior VP at Weber
Shandwick, discussed 'Making A Difference,' Weber's multi-faceted pro bono program. (See PR NEWS, June 7, 2004.)
There are also many external factors that are forcing companies to build on their CSR programs. Gavin pointed to a 2003 study by the World Bank showing that among decision-
makers in global companies approximately 80% said they took CSR factors into account when considering partners, sourcing or investing; around 50% said they based their ultimate
business decisions on CSR practices.
"CSR can differentiate a company from its competitors," Gavin said, "and that element of differentiation becomes important in how well it's communicated [to stakeholders] and
how well it's understood."
Once again, as with so many other forms of corporate communications, the onus is on PR. Are you prepared to tell your CSR story?
Contacts: Sara Gavin, [email protected]; Julie Harbanis, [email protected]; Ellen Weinreb, [email protected]
Editor's Note: The audio proceedings of the PR NEWS CSR Webinar is available at
http://www.prnewsonline.com. Also, if you've executed a great CSR campaign, tell us about it by entering PR NEWS' CSR Awards; deadline
is Nov. 1 and details are at
The Right CSR Program
Builds trust and brand loyalty
- 46% of consumers are strongly influenced in favor of a particular company over others because of its positive social image (2000, Conference Board survey, "Consumer Expectations on the Social Accountability of Business")
Reflects a company's brand and mission, and builds its business case Of 515 business leaders surveyed:
- 82% say good citizenship helped the bottom line
- More than half say corporate citizenship is part of their business strategy
(2003 report, Center for Corporate Citizenship, Boston College, and U.S. Chamber of Commerce Center for Corporate Citizenship)
CSR Measurement Goals To Strive For...
- Increase employee retention and satisfaction by XX% by providing opportunities to positively impact our local community
- Improve brand recognition/preference by XX% by espousing values in line with those of your customers
- Increase customer commitment and sales by XX% by demonstrating that their purchases are making a difference
- Increase business opportunities by XX % creating new markets
- ...or whatever metrics are most critical in your company
...And Then Evaluate
- Contributions towards an achieved goal (employee turnover, increase in customers, awareness)
- Using key audience surveys (brand perception, satisfaction, impact on behavior)
- Program visibility(employee/customer awareness, external coverage of brand values)
Source for second and third charts: Sara Gavin/Weber Shandwick