It’s sensible to be wary of public relations in CSR, but naïve to think you can do without it, says Kate Nicholas
‘It’s just a public relations tactic’ must be one of the most
disheartening – and frequent – indictments to be thrown at companies
engaging in corporate social responsibility. CSR reports, for example,
are often dismissed as ‘PR fig leaves’ and a triumph of style over
substance. So it’s hardly surprising that many non-governmental
organizations and some CSR professionals have such a well developed
aversion to corporate public relations. Even the UK’s former CSR
minister, Stephen Timms, called for corporate responsibility to be kept
away from PR in case pure intentions were tainted by spin.
But is this really fair on PR? Ironically, PR does have an image
problem. But the everyday reality is far more complex than the media
leads us to believe. PR involves communications across a broad range of
interested parties, from investors to employees, consumer groups to
government advisers. And public relations officers also wield
considerable influence within an organization; an increasing number of
corporate communications directors are on the board, advising companies
on how to respond to public and shareholder concerns.
All of which means that, unless you believe in corporate altruism,
overlooking the contribution of communicators is somewhat naïve.
Conversion to CSR tends to involve a Damascene moment when either the
company realizes that being perceived as ethical will provide a
competitive advantage, or the penny drops that its appalling record on
the environment and human rights poses a real threat to its reputation
– and by default share price, sales and staff retention. In both cases
the rationale for commitment requires that CSR policies be communicated.
It is also highly unrealistic to presume that just because a company
chooses not to deal with the media on a particular issue, the subject
will pass below a journalist’s radar. A steady stream of CSR reports
has alerted editors that there is a rich editorial seam to be mined in
corporate ethics. And with 24/7 news channels and online news services
to feed, journalists are on the lookout for any chink in the facade of
corporate responsibility. In fact, the media seems even more cynical
about CSR roles than PR. The Sunday Telegraph was recently angered by
the fact that ‘non-jobs’ in the CSR department at the BBC were not
affected by cutbacks.
All of this isn’t to say that CSR is just PR – far from it. Even most
corporate communicators would tell you that it isn’t a good idea to
place CSR in their department – or any other single department for that
matter.
All the PR in the world won’t help a company with dubious ethics, but
if PR professionals and communications are taken out of the picture,
it’s highly likely that far fewer companies will see the benefit or
urgency of changing their ways.
Kate Nicholas is associate publisher and former editor-in-chief of PRWeek.
