PR Practitioners in Corporate Social Responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is an aspect of public relations that involves a business’s consideration of its public’s’ interests (environmental, economic, and social). A PR practitioner involved with CSR would need to make sure that its tasks are mindful of the publics s/he is working with. According to CSRwire, practitioners can show social responsibility by showing they value the community. This could be via volunteering, being environmentally conscious, and community development. Today, the new trend of “going green” has become a way for corporations to show they are socially responsible. For example, Harris Teeter recently began selling bags made from recycled fibers that offer a reusable replacement for plastic bags.

Socially responsible organizations consider the interests of society by taking responsibility for the impact of their activities on customers, employees, shareholders, communities and the environment in all aspects of their operations. This obligation is seen to extend beyond the statutory obligation to comply with legislation and sees organizations voluntarily taking further steps to improve the quality of life for employees and their families as well as for the local community and society at large.

It seems to me CSR is an especially crucial part of non-profit organizations, environmental-based businesses, government business, and other organizations focused on the community. While researching business programs for graduate school, I stumbled upon a CSR quiz. After taking the quiz, I realized that the values of CSR can be applied to almost all major organizations because they all deal with society in some way. For example, Forbes ranked Wal-Mart America’s number one most generous corporation. Also,  Ethisphere magazine ranked BMW the world’s most ethical corporation. I would really encourage taking the quiz because it made me realize the importance of CSR and how prominent it is in major companies that many of us know about.

“Going Green,” Sprint’s new CSR Initiative »« I want to be One Less! Is this PR?