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Latest
Features
Global Alliance For Public Relations And Communications Management Position Statement on Corporate Social Responsibility "Corporate Social Responsibility" is one of several global subjects generating great interest and impact for Global Alliance societies and their members. As a service to GA societies, a team of GA CSR experts has developed the following "GA CSR Positioning Statement". We invite comments from all interested parties and will post such comments in a permanent appendix to the statement. Thereafter, GA will report CSR developments via website/newsletter and provide additional related services as warranted. Prologue The term "corporate social responsibility" (also described as Business Ethics, Corporate Responsibility, Corporate Citizenship, Sustainable Development, Triple-Bottom-Line Management, etc.) – indeed, like "public relations" – means different things to different people in various parts of the world. But one thing seems certain to public relations professionals wherever they practice: The universals at the core of the corporate social responsibility concept have great potential significance for our profession. [Here at the outset of the discussion of corporate social responsibility it is important to note that all institutions in society – non-profit as well as “for-profit” - have responsibilities to society. Many corporate responsibilities, specifically those inherent in “stakeholder relations”, also apply to educational institutions, philanthropic organizations, government agencies, “civil society” groups and other non-profit entities. In short, we all have responsibilities to society. [Too, the corporation, as an institution in society, has always had social responsibilities. Traditionally, these responsibilities to society centered on producing needed or wanted products and services, providing employment, paying taxes and generating returns on investment. In recent decades, however, many new public/stakeholder expectations and demands have been added to the traditional responsibilities.] In this summary examination, The Global Alliance for Public Relations and Communications Management offers a brief overview of the CSR aspects that relate to the practice of public relations. Our objective is to assist GA partners as they serve their individual members in understanding, applying, and benefiting from this global trend. In order to facilitate ongoing, two-way communication on CSR, this initial GA effort will be supplemented by related services including a continuously updated page on the GA website. CSR: Definitions and Descriptions In its most expansive interpretation, CSR relates to business in 21st century society – how private enterprise affects, and is affected by, social, economic and environmental issues in many parts of the world. [We acknowledge that there are more limiting, or even disparaging, interpretations of CSR and public relations - i.e. “greenwash”, “spin” etc. – but these arguments are not within the scope of this GA position statement.] Obviously, the world’s many cultures and social, political, and economic systems have resulted in a great variety of business-in-society interfaces. But whether at the global, regional, national or local levels, the impact of business on society is now undeniably both substantial and growing. What, then, is the corporation’s responsibility to the many different groups of people affected by its plans and actions? Addressing this seminal question, many have attempted to articulate the 21st century CSR business model. To illustrate the GA position, we present these recent descriptions: “With the
fast-spreading commitment to C[S]R, a case can be made that a
fundamental new business model – one that respects stakeholder and
shareholder values simultaneously – is evolving.” “CSR is a
concept whereby companies integrate social and environmental concerns in
their business operations and in their interactions with their
stakeholders on a voluntary basis.” “CSR [is] achieving
commercial success in ways that honor ethical values and respect people,
communities, and the natural environment.” “CSR
is the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and
contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life
of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community
and society at large.” Most informed observers include the following as potential elements of contemporary CSR:
One of the most important challenges for CSR advocates is to convince skeptics both in and out of business that the CSR rationale is consistent with “traditional” business values. This often equates to demonstrating that the interests of shareholders need not be in conflict with the interests of other stakeholders. Charles Elson, Director of the Corporate Governance Center at the University of Delaware, U.S.A., has addressed this challenge directly: “I believe in shareholder primacy. On the other hand, I firmly believe that unless you are honest and take care of the other stakeholders in the business – your employees, your customers, your suppliers, your community – you will never create the profitability for your shareholders that you are required to under the law of fiduciary responsibility.” We also need to determine what CSR is not. It is not “corporate charity” or “philanthropy at other people’s expense”. However, one element of contemporary CSR, “strategic philanthropy”, seeks to merge corporate strategic interests with corporate social investment, or donations, recognising the importance of various communities affected by a corporation. This is a far cry from earlier practices of supporting the chairman’s favorite charity. In short, CSR now represents the potential for a new dimension in rating the quality of business management in a fast-changing society -- a society in which public expectations and demands must be anticipated, considered and addressed. Success here is not only a matter of vitally-important risk management, i.e. reducing the likelihood of financial and reputational injury, but also one of capitalizing on emerging opportunities. The CSR/Public Relations Interface Serious cautions should be given due weight in projecting a CSR/PR interface:
But even with such cautions, the case is strong for public relations to be at, or near, the center of CSR management. The essence of professional public relations practice is to apply communications to help an organization, in this context a corporation, develop and maintain reciprocal relationships with the publics (or stakeholders) that can influence its future. The U.N. Global Compact has supplied the CSR/PR link: “Effective two-way communications is essential to CSR success.” The applicable professional public relations portfolio of capabilities may include, but is by no means limited to, the following:
In summary, public relations, properly placed and administered in the CSR business model, functions as the interface between a corporation and its publics, a critical zone for CSR success. Global Application In the 21st-century economically interconnected world, CSR will gain global acceptance as it helps solve, or at least ameliorate, some of the world’s large-scale problems. Set out in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals, this means significant, measurable progress in reducing poverty, improving health, increasing education and sharing vital natural resources, especially in less developed countries. Here, the interaction, or partnering, with stakeholders or involved organizations with “standing”, which is often at the core of CSR practice, is a promising approach. U.N. General Secretary Kofi Annan has suggested this course of action: “Let us choose to reconcile the creative forces of private entrepreneurship with the needs of the disadvantaged and the requirements of future generations.” Such partnering can take various forms: coordination within an industry; linkage of a company with a government or multinational governmental institution; triangular cooperation among industry, government and non-governmental organizations; or variants of any of these models. The seeds of such CSR progress have been sown in a wide variety of programs. They range from the payments to adolescent students in Central America to forego menial employment and pursue education, to the vast network of successful “micro loans” in less developed countries; from corporate supplies of drugs to employees and their families to combat HIV in Africa, to corporate adult basic education and training for employees and communities - including the supply of information technology, software, hardware and training in LDCs. In Summary… The Global Alliance’s overriding CSR mission is to help its members understand and - to the degree that they can, and wish to, - participate in the further development of this model of business-in-society. Supporting projects are well underway at several GA member associations. These include the Corporate Social Responsibility Network of the Institute of Public Relations (U.K.); a model for measuring the efficiency of social responsibility communications tools developed for Federazione Relazoni Pubbliche Italiane by the Bocconi University of Milan; and the Strategic Social Responsibility section of the Public Relations Society of America. There is, of course, a vast amount of work still to be done by business in two fundamental CSR arenas. One is applying CSR “at home”, i.e., with all of a corporation’s stakeholders – the groups of people with whom it interacts directly. The other is determining an appropriate role, if any, in the achievement of “responsible globalization” – the activist position relating to many world issues. Public relations professionals the world over can contribute significantly to such progress. The Global Alliance, by sharing the CSR experiences and resources of its partners, will help advance the evolution of CSR even as it serves the interest of its member associations and, in turn, the associations’ individual members.
Appendix: Responses to the
GA CSR Positioning Statement
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