In the first part of this series that ran on Oct. 26, PR News defined what differentiated CSR reporting from traditional PR. In this second part of our special on
CSR reports, Susan Nickbarg, Principal of SVN Marketing LLC, who specializes in corporate social responsibility, addresses how to successfully frame a CSR report.
A company's
authentic commitment to sustainability and transparency is the hallmark of a CSR report. But writing a CSR report is different from other reports that a PR professional has to
create. Skills that served the PR professional well, such as the ability to write a compelling turn-of-phrase, can backfire and be seen as compensatory for less-developed
substance in a CSR report.
For starters, CSR reports must be on the Internet as well as in print. Industry observers and a company's critics will inevitably go online and snoop, and there is no
shortage of sites to click into: blogs, chat rooms, activist Web sites, viral e-mail, or alternative media protest sites are ubiquitous. If the CSR report is online, these
mission-specific Net surfers will compare these random Net-based findings/ravings to the published CSR report.
It is important to decide whether or not the CSR report should reflect back to points concerning the way stakeholders think and their requirements for information - and not
necessarily the way the company is structured. Because of this, some companies start their CSR reporting by picking one topical area, such as the environment, and reviewing it
with "completeness" across the whole operation. Then, they add topics year-by-year.
Is this the right way to do things? Honestly, it is hard to determine. CSR reporting guidelines (AA1000, Global Reporting Initiative, and others) are in continual
development, both interpretative and self-selected. Ceres launched and led the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) with the United Nations Environment Program, until it became an
independent, international standard-setting organization in June 2002. While the GRI is the uniform, international gold standard, with currently 700-plus companies reporting under
GRI guidelines, there is no one absolute common framework requirement.
What To Say, How To Say It
At any stage in developing and managing a CSR report, it is important to meet the mark unique to the standards of the emerging CSR industry. To keep up with the evolution of
CSR reporting and communications, it may make sense to do one or all of the following:
- Understand the company's mission and values and use that as the foundation of the CSR. Specifically, get data on what the company does now and leverage it.
- Hold the spin and present the truth. Present the positives and don't shirk from showing the shortfalls on performance. Include reported goals and metrics to underscore what
took place and why. - Understand the CSR report will be disseminated in print, online, and via Web cast. Make certain it is handsomely designed, interactive, accessible and user-friendly in its
various media formats. - Maximize the impact of the message with simple, concise language, but be certain the text is in keeping with existing CSR reporting guidelines and CSR language.
- Understand the complete audience - and tailor the report's language to those audiences. Have more-detailed reports available for select audiences which require them.
- Produce a stakeholder map to focus engagement activities, feedback, and messages.
- Thoroughly review the reports internally and with stakeholders. Audit the CSR report by a third party, if warranted.
Beyond the company's CSR report, it is a good idea to exert influence on a wider scope. Some CSR-related strategies worth considering include the following:
- Involve the CEO on CSR leadership councils and conferences outside of the company. If these councils don't exist, create them.
- Elevate CSR to a position of primacy within the company, and initiate effective mechanisms to teach, train, reward, recognize, feedback.
Considering today's challenges for reporting on corporate sustainability, the manner and depth of the organization's CSR efforts and activities is best conveyed in a relational
manner.
Bananas For CSR
Mike Mitchell, director of corporate communications for the Cleveland-based Chiquita, makes CSR a part of his normal routine. "Our goal all along is to make CSR part of the
everyday way we do business," he says. "We set goals for CSR internally with milestones for targets in various areas."
Mitchell keeps an annual review on Chiquita's CSR goals and results. "It would be nice if by 2010 the scope of our report would be inclusive of our operations," he adds.
"What we have done is focus on greatest impact first. We started with our banana operations, and then added supply chain. This year it's the manufacturing plant. Our offices in
the U.S. are actually not really reported on. There are some big sectors of our business that are outside of our reporting today."
Chiquita's example is not uncommon - a CSR report is a step-by-step continual improvement process. The decision to release a report may be de facto as opposed to pre-emptive
in the sense the company already has large strides in its CSR footprints.
Thus, CSR reporting can be a key indicator of financial vitality.
As the CSR message continues to take root, the message is clear: a company can be trusted, is committed to real improvements, and is willing to have a two-way dialogue. CSR
reporting is about accountability, the brand, performance, improvement, and living up to expectations. The CSR report gives companies a vehicle for providing greater context for
what they're doing, why they're doing it, and plans for the future. The forward-looking view towards further standardization of CSR reporting, emergence of government regulation,
or integration with financial reporting or auditing would not be a surprise.
Contacts: Susan Nickbarg, 301.588.6430, [email protected]; Mike Mitchell,513.784.8000, [email protected]