Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and PR

CSR as Modern Business Strategy and a Public Relations Concern

Sep 7, 2009

CSR falls under the remit of Public Relations (PR) practitioners in their 'boundary spanning role' (described by Systems theory e.g. Grunig and Hunt, 1984).

In many corporate organisations, the PR department acts as the company’s surveillance team, monitoring relationships between the company and its internal and external environment, anticipating problematic issues and contributing to policies that address these before they become potentially damaging.

Correctly implicated, CSR policies boost the corporate image and reputation. Organisations with good reputations have many advantages, including;

The rise in consumer awareness and ethical investment are incentives to adopt CSR policies for organisations of all kinds. PR has found a particular niche in assisting with this, and has benefited from the rise in the popularity of CSR.

The most successful CSR policies clearly benefit the organisation as well as its stakeholders. They obtain increased media coverage (paper, television, radio), elevated company profile and contact with new customers, e.g. Tesco Baby and Toddlers clubs ‘save a life’ campaign. Other companies with recent highly successful programmes include Green Flag (‘Wake up! campaign’) and Sainsburys (Choir of the Year). Both were noted by the Chartered Institiute of Public Relations (CIPR) Excellence awards in 2003.

Issues for CSR

Several issues influence the future potential of CSR as a business strategy, particularly for PR professionals.

Some sectors show considerable cynicism towards CSR, querying the real commitment of various organisations to policies like CSR and ‘Sustainable Development’. Critics frequently state that the concept of the “ethical company” is an oxymoron, since the organisation is by nature compelled to maximize self interest, regardless of external costs. CSR has even been accused of being counter productive, damaging organisational relationships with their local communities (Macallister 2004).

The value of CSR activities in terms of public recognition for companies is variable, not always providing worthwhile returns. Members of the public have little interest in hearing about the CSR initiatives of companies- which has been described as being 'dull' even by PR professionals. The level of recognition for investment in CSR afforded to companies differs widely, to the frustration of many companies. Some campaigns successfully capture the imagination of the public and the media. Others, equally worthy, barely receive an acknowledgement.

Le Jeune (2005) comments that the media lacks enthusiasm for the publishing of positive tales of corporate benevolence, with the real story remaining key business issues, and retains a suspicion of any activity claimed to be for more than short-term profit, a significant issue which PR continually struggles with.

PR firms have been criticised for their ethics in previous years, with associated problems for presenting CSR programmes for clients. When selecting an agency to represent them in this area, few companies will regard a group with their own ethical issues as having enough credibility to do their own messages justice.

PR agencies have also been criticised regarding their environmental policies (Quainton and Robertson, 2006). The revelation that top PR agencies are not ‘carbon-neutral’, ironic when they are fighting to prove the green credentials of the brands they represent, is a worrying issue.

PR, addressing public cynicism and the media’s involvement throughout the planning of different programmes, continually tackles these issues and it is critical that it also addresses its own potential problems to protect itself in the current climate of awareness. With modern media including blogs and internet forums, word of poor practice spreads rapidly, and organisations of all kinds must be more proactive than ever in addressing internal problems and protecting their reputation.

References:

Grunig, J.E. and Hunt, T. (1984) Managing Public Relations. New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston.

Le Jeune, M. (2005). ‘Communicating corporate responsibility’ in ‘Public Relations in Practice’. A. Gregory (Ed.)

Macallister, T (2004) ‘Social responsibility is just a PR tool for businesses, says report’ in ‘Guardian Unlimited’ accessed 08.01.2007

Quainton, D. & Robertson, S. (2006) ‘PR firms slammed for lack of green action’ in ‘PR Week’, 10th November 2006

Tench, R (2006). ‘Community and society: corporate social responsibility (CSR)’ in ‘Exploring Public Relations’. R. Tench & L.Yeomans (Ed.). London. Pearson Education

The copyright of the article Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and PR in Social Corporate Responsibility is owned by Paula Sainthouse. Permission to republish Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and PR in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.