Green PR

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Green PR is a sub-field of public relations that communicates an organization's corporate social responsibility or environmentally friendly practices to the public. The goal is to produce increased brand awareness and improve the organization's reputation. Tactics include placing news articles, winning awards, communicating with environmental groups and distributing publications.

Contents

The term is derived from the "green movement", an ideology which seeks to minimize the effect of human activity on the environment.

In this sector of public relations, much of the work focuses on combatting the misinformation spread by big oil and natural gas companies. Many of these companies like, ExxonMobil and BP, have disseminated content that implies they’ve become the leaders in sustainable policy. Practitioners must educate and their publics and rebuild relationships that are mutually beneficial for the company and the planet. [1]

Importance

Environmentalism has become increasingly popular among consumers and media. A nine-country survey found 85% of consumers around the world are willing to change their consumption habits to make tomorrow’s world a better place, and over half (55%) would help a brand “promote” a product if a good cause were behind it. The study also found when choosing between two brands of same quality and price, social purpose affected consumers’ decision the most (41%), ahead of design and innovation (32%) and the loyalty to the brand (26%). [2]

According to PR Week:

The significance of corporate America embracing the green movement cannot be denied. Some still think it's a fad, but all signs point to the contrary - a sustained commitment to sustainability, either for economic efficiencies or reach out to a public whose goals and values are changing. [3]

As a management tool, public relations practitioners have the ability to disseminate information and change perception and awareness. A role of this practice is to bolster organizations within their community, using trade tools like the press release and lobbyists to persuade legislative bodies to enact changes in policy that fortifies the goals of a socially responsible corporation. [4]

In principle, sustainability seeks to dismantle existing infrastructures and replace them with clean green technologies. In doing so, the spread of information and recalibration of traditional practice is vital for a successful campaign. Communication in this field is also underscored by the need to make decisions at the company level, as these practices are not often federally implemented. [5]

As far back as 2008, the majority of companies that were surveyed by the Economist Intelligence Unit cite corporate social responsibility as “a necessary cost of doing business” as well as a potential tactic that can create distinguishing marketability. Now that these issues cannot be ignored in the marketplace, companies must align their manufacturing, sourcing, and sales strategies to curry favor with a consumer base that continually grows more anxious about the state of the environment. [6]

See also

Related Research Articles

In marketing, publicity is the public visibility or awareness for any product, service, person or organization. It may also refer to the movement of information from its source to the general public, often via the media. The subjects of publicity include people of public interest, goods and services, organizations, and works of art or entertainment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Greenwashing</span> Use of the aesthetic of conservationism to promote organisations

Greenwashing, also called "green sheen", is a form of advertising or marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organization's products, aims and policies are environmentally friendly. Companies that intentionally take up greenwashing communication strategies often do so in order to distance themselves from the environmental lapses of themselves or their suppliers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporate social responsibility</span> Form of corporate self-regulation aimed at contributing to social or charitable goals

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is a form of international private business self-regulation which aims to contribute to societal goals of a philanthropic, activist, or charitable nature by engaging in or supporting volunteering or ethically oriented practices. While once it was possible to describe CSR as an internal organizational policy or a corporate ethic strategy, that time has passed as various national and international laws have been developed. Various organizations have used their authority to push it beyond individual or even industry-wide initiatives. In contrast, it has been considered a form of corporate self-regulation for some time, over the last decade or so it has moved considerably from voluntary decisions at the level of individual organizations to mandatory schemes at regional, national, and international levels. Moreover, scholars and firms are using the term "creating shared value", an extension of corporate social responsibility, to explain ways of doing business in a socially responsible way while making profits.

Social responsibility is an ethical framework in which an individual is obligated to work and cooperate with other individuals and organizations for the benefit of the community that will inherit the world that individual leaves behind.

A sustainable business, or a green business, is an enterprise that has minimal negative impact or potentially a positive effect on the global or local environment, community, society, or economy—a business that strives to meet the triple bottom line. They cluster under different groupings and the whole is sometimes referred to as "green capitalism." Often, sustainable businesses have progressive environmental and human rights policies. In general, business is described as green if it matches the following four criteria:

  1. It incorporates principles of sustainability into each of its business decisions.
  2. It supplies environmentally friendly products or services that replaces demand for nongreen products and/or services.
  3. It is greener than traditional competition.
  4. It has made an enduring commitment to environmental principles in its business operations.

Green brands are those brands that consumers associate with environmental conservation and sustainable business practices.

Sustainability reporting refers to the disclosure, whether voluntary, solicited, or required, of non-financial performance information to outsiders of the organization. Generally speaking, sustainability reporting deals with information concerning environmental, social, economic and governance issues in the broadest sense. These are the criteria gathered under the acronym ESG.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Global Reporting Initiative</span>

The Global Reporting Initiative is an international independent standards organization that helps businesses, governments and other organizations understand and communicate their impacts on issues such as climate change, human rights and corruption. GRI provides the world's most widely used sustainability reporting standards

Sustainability advertising is communications geared towards promoting social, economic and environmental benefits (sustainability) of products, services or actions through paid advertising in media in order to encourage responsible behavior of consumers.

Green marketing is the marketing of products that are presumed to be environmentally safe. It incorporates a broad range of activities, including product modification, changes to the production process, sustainable packaging, as well as modifying advertising. Yet defining green marketing is not a simple task where several meanings intersect and contradict each other; an example of this will be the existence of varying social, environmental and retail definitions attached to this term. Other similar terms used are environmental marketing and ecological marketing.

Societal responsibility of marketing is a marketing concept that holds that a company should make marketing decisions not only by considering consumers' wants, the company's requirements, but also society's long-term interests.

Corporate sustainability is an approach aiming to create long-term stakeholder value through the implementation of a business strategy that focuses on the ethical, social, environmental, cultural, and economic dimensions of doing business. The strategies created are intended to foster longevity, transparency, and proper employee development within business organizations. Firms will often express their commitment to corporate sustainability through a statement of Corporate Sustainability Standards (CSS), which are usually policies and measures that aim to meet, or exceed, minimum regulatory requirements.

Socially responsible marketing is a marketing philosophy that a company should take into consideration; "What is in the best interest of society in the present and long term?"

A Corporate Social Entrepreneur (CSE) is someone who attempts to advance a social agenda in addition to a formal job role as part of a corporation. CSEs may or may not operate in organizational contexts that are predisposed toward corporate social responsibility. CSEs' concerns are with both the development of social capital and economic capital, and the formal job role of a CSE may not necessarily be connected with corporate social responsibility, nor does a CSE have to be in an executive or management position.

Sustainability standards and certifications are voluntary guidelines used by producers, manufacturers, traders, retailers, and service providers to demonstrate their commitment to good environmental, social, ethical, and food safety practices. There are over 400 such standards across the world.

Sustainability brands are brands that undertake sustainable practises in the workings of their business and champion them.

Traditionally, market orientation (MO) focuses on microenvironment and the functional management of an organisation. However, contemporary organisations have widened their focus to incorporate more roles, functions and emphasis on the macro environment. Firms have been concerned with short run success and often not taken into account the long-run ecological, social and economic effects from their activities. Despite growth in the MO concept, there is still a need to reconceptualise the concept with a greater emphasis on external factors that influence a firm.

Corporate sustainable profitability (CSP) revolves around the idea that companies who take responsibility from an economical, environmental and social perspective can become more profitable.

Social accounting is the process of communicating the social and environmental effects of organizations' economic actions to particular interest groups within society and to society at large. Social Accounting is different from public interest accounting as well as from critical accounting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corporate environmental responsibility</span>

Corporate Environmental Responsibility (CER) refers to a company's duties to abstain from damaging natural environments. The term derives from corporate social responsibility (CSR).

References

  1. Timperley, Jocelyn (March 2021). "Advertising with a conscience". The Lancet Planetary Health. 5 (3): e118–e119. doi: 10.1016/s2542-5196(21)00035-8 . ISSN   2542-5196.
  2. "Consumers Would Partner with Brands for Social Change, Environment". 16 November 2007. Retrieved 17 September 2008.
  3. "PRWeek Green - PRWeek US" . Retrieved 17 September 2008.
  4. "CSR/Sustainability, public relations, and ethics", Corporate Social Responsibility, Sustainability and Public Relations, Routledge, pp. 20–39, 2015-11-19, retrieved 2021-10-28
  5. Genç, Ruhet (2017). "The Importance of Communication in Sustainability & Sustainable Strategies". Procedia Manufacturing. 8: 511–516. doi: 10.1016/j.promfg.2017.02.065 . ISSN   2351-9789.
  6. Rexhepi, Gadaf; Kurtishi, Selma; Bexheti, Gjilnaipe (April 2013). "Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Innovation–The Drivers of Business Growth?". Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences. 75: 532–541. doi: 10.1016/j.sbspro.2013.04.058 . ISSN   1877-0428.

Further reading