|
Find your degree. Advance your career. Begin a new life. |  |
Corporate Social Responsibility -- A New Challenge for Corporate Communications Professionals |
|
|
August 30, 2005
by Sarah Clark
sarah.clark@educationfactor.com
Education Factor Columnist
A new issue that has emerged in recent years within corporate communications departments is a company's social responsibility record. While corporate communications executives once focused on communicating with shareholders, the government, and employees, they now have a new group of people to be concerned with, those who want to know what a company is doing about a host of social and environmental issues.
In case you aren't familiar with the term corporate social responsibility, or CSR, it refers to the social and environmental record, policies, and practices of a business. The idea of corporate social responsibility gained popularity in the mid 1990s, when celebrity figure Kathy Lee Gifford's clothing line was alleged to have been produced by the use of child labor. Other corporate scandals, such as the Union Carbide Corporation incident in Bhopal and the Exxon Valdez oil spill have drawn attention to the issue of what responsibility businesses have with regard to the treatment of people, communities, and the environment.
CSR and the Corporate Communications Professional
How does CSR fit into the role of a corporate communications professional? While many large businesses have a dedicated CSR division that develops policies and practices for a company, corporate communications specialists are still very much involved in how a company's policies, practices, and progress against stated CSR goals are communicated. For example, Ford Motor Company issues an annual report on its CSR efforts. A corporate communications professional will likely have to learn about these issues and how best to communicate them to various stakeholders, such as shareholders, customers, consumer advocacy groups, and socially responsible investors.
How Do You Learn about CSR?
Fortunately, it's pretty easy to get a handle on what CSR is and how companies are dealing with it from a communications standpoint. Large companies such as Reebok, Timberland, and the Gap have information on their CSR programs available to the public on their Web sites. It's also important to get the advocates' perspective; checking out reports issued and campaigns launched by Human Rights First and Global Exchange will help you get a sense of some of the hot button issues. Some business classes may also deal with the subject.
About the Author
Sarah Clark is a freelance writer based in Arlington, Virginia.
|
|
Additional Articles |
|
Law Schools
Graduate Schools
|
|
|
|
