“Reviled” firms lead responsibility list
Today’s article by Juliette Jowit in The Guardian previews the imminent release of Salter Baxter’s eighth corporate responsibility report entitled Sustainability Gets Tough. It reveals the diminishing returns to be had from CSR PR. As the chairman of the UK government’s Sustainable Development Commission makes clear in the article, the debate has moved on. But firms have yet to recognise that fact. The scathing response to Salter Baxter’s report should serve as a wake up call to firms and their communications teams.
Of course CSR PR has suffered diminishing returns. It has largely been seen as a smokescreen used by companies to tell the outside world how wonderful they are until they get caught with their hand in the till. It will take some clear thinking to win back share of mind on this one.