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Earth Day may have come and gone, but businesses like Pandora and Eleven Madison Park are taking what used to be a once-a-year acknowledgement and committing to sustainability in their day-to-day activities. 

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says a recent $200 million investment in building improvements—as well as the fact that 180,000 city workers are fully vaccinated—will keep workers safe. City employees are not convinced. Carefully crafting return-to-work messages is something the Mayor and corporate leaders are facing.

Marketing and communication professionals gathered virtually Tuesday to celebrate the winners and honorable mentions for the PRNEWS CSR & Diversity Awards, which mark excellence across people, teams and campaigns. Here are this year’s winners.

It’s a small irony that a week beginning with a bogus story about VP Kamala Harris’s children’s book ends Friday (April 30) with the celebration of Honesty Day. It’s a holiday that every PR pro should circle on the calendar as honesty is the currency of the profession.

There are few issues more important to organizations than disinformation, cyber crime, breaches and hacks. Communicators can contribute to the fight against these scourges by keeping one thing in mind: Know your audience. With that knowledge, it’s easier to spot aberrant behavior, which may indicate a disinformation effort.

While some executives believe banning political discussion can protect workers and create a more productive environment, employees and consumers may disagree.

In an opinion column headlined, “I love Disney World, but wokeness is ruining the experience,” Jonathan VanBoskerck expressed frustration with the Disney theme park. In response to newly relaxed policies around employee dress and changes to rides like Splash Mountain, VanBoskerck claims Disney has taken a politically motivated “woke scalpel” to its park. PR pros argue Disney’s efforts are morally and strategically sound.

There’s no time like spring to take a fresh look at cleaning the homestead and your communication tactics and strategies. Consider what’s working and things that need tweaking or a deep-cleaning, such as dusty media lists or social posts that haven’t aged well.

PRNEWS welcomed Julie Ulrich, Idaho National Labs communications strategist, to discuss recent communications campaigns promoting a diverse and engaged workforce.

There are plenty of reasons for communicators to celebrate Earth Day this year. More companies are including conservation and sustainability in their corporate culture. In addition, media is hiring more full-time journalists to cover the environment. There are many ways to make sustainability stories more attractive to them and their audiences.