Practical surveys and research have indicated that in many small and medium enterprises within the Caribbean, CSR is confused with PR and also strictly with corporate philanthropy.

What are your thoughts? Does CSR and public relations overlap, are they mutually exclusive?

Tags: csr, corporate social responsibili…, green marketing, greenwash, philanthropy, public relations, sme, sustainability, sustainable development

Reply to This

Replies to This Discussion

I can see how one can see some overlap, however in principle CSR is an outward looking initiative and PR is done as an inward looking initiative. They are not necessarily mutually exclusive but have very distinct roles in corporate world.

Reply to This

Thanks Ben for the info. I've found that many company's use the public relations aspect of corporate philanthropy as a means of proving Corporate Responsibility. I do think that CR is also internal (proper systems, supply chain etc) as opposed to the common misconception that CR is merely corporate giving.

Reply to This

Hi!

I would like to add that while CSR is about conducting your business in a sustainable way (with regards to people, planet and profit). CSR also contributes to positive PR strengthening the company´s relations capital.

Reply to This

Definitely Tomas. Once a company works internally on strong corporate governance, it gives naturally to public relations. What has happened in some instances is companies with weak corporate governance may tend to "spin" PR and corporate giving to hide their internal inconsistencies.

Reply to This

Yes, hence the term "greenwash" and what not. These types of practices most often lead to weaker relations for the company in the longrun. Worse, it also damages the credibility of the CSR movement.

Reply to This

Tomas: Can I ask what you mean by relations capital?

Reply to This

Great topic Astrid! There was a similar discussion posted by Matthew Rochte a few months ago that I think all of you might find interesting as well:

http://www.developmentcrossing.com/forum/topics/pr-v-csr

Reply to This

Matthew Rochte's information is outstanding and it really covers the greenwashing concept well. Thanks for the link Marcus. We have a lot of work to do here in the Latin American and Caribbean region on this concept. Almost 9 out of 10 individuals consider CSR = Corp. Philanthropy.

Reply to This

I think the idea that CSR is corporate philanthropy was quite widely held in the UK until about 5 years ago. Since then, the increased profile of climate change, coupled with the global financial crisis (which, I think it's fair to say, was largely down to there being too great a focus on an organisations short-term economic performance - rather than its longer-term sustainability) have shifted the focus of the debate.

Now, I believe that organisations are starting to think of CSR as investing in the initiatives and behaviours that support long-term sustainability (across the triple bottom line). This doesn't mean disposing of philanthropy altogether - but investing in the initiatives/charities that have an authentic connection to a company's core business.

As per my comments in the debate Marcus mentions above, PR and CSR are both ultimately connected to reputation - it's just PR tells people what you're doing, and CSR evidences (through behaviours and experiences) who and what you are as an organisation.

In my experience, Brazil does sustainability pretty well - might be worth looking to this region for some inspiration?

Best wishes,

Ben

Reply to This

Ben

Thank you for the response. It would be beneficial to export some UK CSR knowledge down to the West Indies on how CSR has evolved there (the UK).

In terms of Brazil, is it that a certain legislation was passed to encourage better CSR or Corp Governance practices, or it is purely a private sector initiative?

Thanks,

Astrid F.

Reply to This

Cool. There's an excellent article on corporate philanthropy, which I think is reprinted in the Harvard Business Review's book on Corporate Responsibility, that describes conditions for corporate giving that creates a win-win for the company and for society. That might be a good place to start?

You might also find our corporate responsibility whitepapers useful (largely linked to reporting), which are available in various bits of www.ry.com/publications

Do get in touch if you have further/specific questions about how things are in the UK - and I'll look out for further discussion post from you (in the event that I can be useful!).

Thanks

Ben

Reply to This

Ben

The www.ry.com site is really dynamic - it made me smile and I'll twit it. While we at Triumph are focusing on strengthening CSR via a more business continuity approach to corporate governance, my personal pet peeve is CSR and the media - be it Public Relations, or Mass Media not focusing on or giving air time to companies that have truly met what CSR at core should be. Something needs to be done with the reporting media of the world, but that is a separate discussion.

In terms of corporate reporting, say interim over annual, how do you then see social media such as Twitter playing a part?

Definitely keep in touch,

Astrid F.

Reply to This

RSS

Latest Activity

David Wright is now a member of Development Crossing
3 hours ago
CSO Partners added a discussion
What are our expectations from the women legislators?   Can you redefine development? Can you ensure that women are not considered a liability? Can you ensure that girls are not killed before they are born and well-fed after they are?   Can you put…
12 hours ago
14 hours ago
Tracey de Morsella Your Green Careers Questions Answered by an Expert Next Tuesday http://ping.fm/QjWUt
21 hours ago

© 2007 Created by Development Crossing

Badges  |  Report an Issue  |  Privacy  |  Terms of Service