CSR and communications: A match made in heaven or marriage of convenience?

Savvy businesses ensure they have robust CSR programmes for a number of reasons - efficiency, staff morale, and personal commitment. Alongside these clear benefits to the bottom line, however, is an ever-present desire to show and tell the organisation's positive impact. This allows companies to be seen as innovators and to demonstrate their leadership to clients and peers.

When Marks & Spencer, for example, launched its Plan A for sustainable retailing, it did so with a fanfare of publicity, via multiple communications channels. Communication of Plan A was seen as a key plank of its success. M&S wanted the public to know about, to support it and sign up to it themselves. Just to 'get on with it', without sharing its aims and ambitions and the good work the company was doing, would have been a missed opportunity. What is more, it would have damaged the campaign's chances of success. M&S continues to communicate its Plan A ambitions, shoring up its reputation as a sustainable responsible brand and even uses a dedicated website to support the ongoing campaign.

Yet in UK Government circles at the moment, communication is rather a dirty word. With the freeze on all but a very few Government PR, advertising and marketing initiatives, the implication is that 'communication' in general and PR in particular is a waste of money - a luxury reserved for the good times, rather than a necessity. Local councils, for example, have been 'named and shamed' for hiring PR companies - despite councils' protests that these hires have actually saved them money!

So, what does this mean for the private sector and for their CSR initiatives? Well, it could pave the way for new positive partnerships, and push corporate responsibility even further into the mainstream. As I mentioned in my first blog, there are already mumblings about businesses like McDonalds and Tesco stepping in for Government and paying for healthy eating campaigns. However, businesses and brands will have to work hard to ensure the money they spend works for them and that their campaigns are not just seen as 'greenwash' or a veneer of sustainability to draw attention away from a mountain of dubious practices. This will only be possible if a) the CSR campaign being promoted is genuine and will make a real and positive difference; and b) it is clearly and transparently communicated.

This may seem obvious, but it is easier to say than to do. The public, and the UK public in particular, can be a cynical bunch. We may listen to Government when it tells us to eat less salt, or to buy a car which produces less greenhouse gas emissions because we know Government isn't going to gain one way or the other. If, however, a low sodium food brand or a big car manufacturer comes out with the same messages independent of Government, consumers might not be so willing to buy.

Both CSR consultants, and communications consultants have a job to do in advising business on the subtleties of how initiatives need to be put across. So, it is really up to us CSR professionals to decide whether the marriage between CSR and communications is a happy one or not. Doing good work and communicating it transparently will make for a long lasting relationship, but trying to put a gloss on a paper thin commitment will not. In CSR as in life, a match based on genuine compatibility is likely to work, whereas one based on a false premise will rarely make it beyond the honeymoon period.

Photo Credit: Seth Buchanan - www.sethbuchanan.com.au