Hoping to enhance its global corporate responsibility efforts, Burson-Marsteller recently named Bennett Freeman as Managing Director for Corporate Responsibility in the firm's
U.S. Corporate and Financial Practice. Freeman, a former deputy assistant secretary of state for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, will play a key role in helping Burson-
Marsteller clients deal with domestic and global issues facing multi-national corporations. Freeman is based in Burson's Washington, D.C. office, but he'll spend a great deal of
time traveling to huddle with clients. PR NEWS talked with Bennett about his goals, as well as trends in corporate social responsibility.
Q: What are your top priorities for the firm's corporate and institutional clients on corporate responsibility policies and strategies?
A: There are hardly any multinational corporations in any sector which don't face pressures [in the area of CSR]. We're going to be counseling multinational companies on
strategy policy as well as on communications. I'm hoping to build the substantive content on top of a robust communications effort. A lot of companies have viewed corporate
responsibility pressures, particularly from NGOs, as communication problems. Our approach is to put communications in a broader context of a whole policy strategy e.g. how does a
company position itself on key human rights issues and what are the leading international standards company should align with or, in some cases, avoid.
Q: Corporate social responsibility is becoming a much more pronounced part of the corporate landscape. How well are multinational firms dealing with the trend lines?
A: Collectively it's a very mixed picture, with many, many miles to go. CSR is a journey; not a destination. There are no final outcomes, there are no final victories. It's as
much, in my view, about process as it is about substance. It's a process of engaging with diverse stakeholders and finding points of convergence between their agendas and
companies, own business interests. It's never easy and it's never over. What's changed is the degree of pressure and the irreversible pressure on companies [to dealing with CSR
issues]. The corporate scandals have also been a wake-up call to management to have more transparency on corporate social responsibility in addition to corporate governance.
Q: Should communications/PR executives be given more responsibility when it comes to crafting CSR plans? Do these executives need more of a seat at the table on this issue?
A: What we bring to the table in PR is the integrated approach of looking at CSR in the broader context of public affairs, government relations, corporate/CEO reputation as
well as media relations. Large PR firms bring that integrated approach in ways that boutiques and independent consultants can't match. At the same time, we're trying to fuse
independent expertise with that broader, integrated approach.
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