Greenwashing

It is proved that customers prefer services and products of socially responsible companies. An image of sustainable and eco-friendly brand gives a number of benefits to the company, for example: better and stronger relationships with stakeholders, avoidance of the severity of potential crisis, improvement of bottom line, boost in sales, etc. Therefore many companies try to implement CSR programmes only for the sake of having more ‘green’ image, not backing it up with the real action. Such activities called as ‘greenwashing’ have, however, an opposite effect on customers, who can easily determine if the company is genuine or not and develop a counter-productive perception of a ‘deceiver- company’. 

                                                                                   (Picture from: Greenertrends.com)

CIPR, which in 2007 published the best practice guidelines to uphold high standards of corporate social responsibility, describes greenwashing as:

"[greenwash] is a term often used when describing environmental sustainability communications that are false or misleading, generally when significantly more money or time has been spent promoting being green, rather than spending resources on environmentally sound practices. This can be portrayed by changing the name, or label, of a product, to give the ‘feeling of nature’, for example putting an image of a forest on a bottle of harmful chemicals. It is also sometimes used to distract from negative practices in other parts of a company’s business.

Greenwash can lead to a reduction in stakeholders’ trust, damaging reputation and investor confidence. Making false or over-the-top claims only strengthens media suspicions about eco-claims, which in turn damages efforts to improve the environment. PR practitioners should never knowingly greenwash and should take responsibility to question client claims if they believe them to be untrue or inaccurate."

Activists against BP's art sponsorship:

In a bunch of the most criticized companies for greenwashing their image is BP. I wonder what do you think of BP’s involvement in art sponsorship? From one hand the big, rich, oil corporation, whose main stakeholders are local communities and governments in areas where it operates, but on the other hand BP has 20 year long record of sponsoring the art, cultural and educational organizations. A genuine activity or greenwashing?

BP is currently searching for a PR agency, which will promote its sponsorships during 2012 Olympic Games. Here is a brief and the presentation I made for that case, as one of our course assignments: 

Presentation of a brief for a PR agency - BP case study

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Brief for a PR agency - BP case study

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Community has rights and corporation has duties – PR and CSR

CSR origins

Although CSR derives from the nineteenth-century practice of philanthropists, its modern concept is based on the premise that the corporations have a particular duties towards the internal and external environment in which they operate. A stress of that obligation was intensified in 1960s and 1970s by social activists, who criticized large corporations and elites for holding an enormous power within the society, claiming that it should imply increased responsibility and protection for the groups whose interests those may affect.

The nature of CSR

CSR claims to have equal benefits to both its benefactor and beneficent, and is said to be an “enlightened self-interest of mutual benefit to both donor and beneficiary”. However this statement is being questionable on several grounds. First of all, the company’s benefits in form of “either ensuring a healthier economic climate in which the company operates or in terms of improved image and competitive edge for the company” are deemed to be much more higher the recipient’s, and secondly recipients have no autonomy in a decision-making process: “donors choose beneficiaries, activities and the amount of money, resources and the length of commitment.”(L’Etang, Pieczka; 2006).

Role of PR in CSR

CSR is considered as a PR tool as it serves as a technique to build relationships with company’s stakeholders, and influences a company’s image and reputation.

“Public relations practitioners may be responsible for proposing corporate social responsibility activities and identifying relevant publics, objectives, messages. In this way public relations practitioners are directly involved in policy formulation. It is not, therefore, a question of senior management working out their organizational responsibilities and then the public relations practitioner communicating the policy actions, but of public relations actively driving the programme and setting corporate objectives.” (L’Etang, Pieczka; 2006).

Moreover CSR takes an important role in the issues management process. Hence, for the biggest part, issues are arising in the social field, it is vital to monitor the trends and respond to the stakeholders’ expectations by implementing adequate CSR programs, which undermine crisis emergency.

“CSR supports reputation risk management strategies by:

• Managing short term risk by acquiring quality information through dialogue;
• Accessing valuable marketplace and societal trends data;
• Moving towards consensus and away from conflict through better stakeholder management;
• Influencing views and behaviour inside and outside the organisation, with associated performance benefits;
• Enhancing value through socially responsible investment.”

(Regester, Larkin; 2005)

Bibliography:

L'Etang, J., Pieczka, M., (2006). Public Relations. Criticaldebates and contemporary practice. International Thomson Business Press.

Regester, M., Larkin, J., (2008). Risk Issues and Crisis Management in Public Relations. Kogan Page