CSR is not a product of PR

“Today, corporate social responsibility goes far beyond the old philanthropy of the past – donating money to good causes at the end of the financial year – and is instead an all year round responsibility that companies accept for the environment around them, for the best working practices, for their engagement in their local communities and for their recognition that brand names depend not only on quality, price and uniqueness but on how, cumulatively, they interact with companies’ workforce, community and environment. Now we need to move towards a challenging measure of corporate responsibility, where we judge results not just by the input but by its outcomes: the difference we make to the world in which we live, and the contribution we make to poverty reduction.” Gordon Brown, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Corporate Social Responsibility has indeed come a long way since signing a few cheques to charity. It is evolving to become a way of doing business, and an increasing number of organisations are changing their business models to fit into this new environment. As we've seen over the years with Nike, Gap, Nestle and many other MNCs, have been been under the limelight for their less than ideal business practices. As we understand the greater significance of our consumerist lifestyles, the only way of sustaining ourselves is by moving to a "sustainable" way of producing, consuming and disposing things. And organisations are also focusing on these concepts. But, there are many industries where changing business models will not compensate the damage to the environment. As a result, such companies engage in other activities. While the intent is usually goodwill, CSR has gathered a bad reputation because it's construed more as an image building exercise by organisations than a genuine attempt to contribute to the community. 

For all those companies that are indeed guilty of trying to seem like they care about their community, and the impact they're having on the environment, there are an opposite number who're genuinely looking to alter their business to deliver on the CSR promises. The fact that organisations such as CSR Europe, and regulations set up the UK government help in bringing firms to the book. But, as is the case with most consumer oriented organisations, it's often a customer, or a disgruntled employee who blows the whistle on their malpractices. From all the ongoing conversations about transparency, sustainability, and similar industry trends, there are something that most organisations are aware of, if not implementing: 

• The likelihood of attracting customers who're interested unsustainable products is diminishing—slowly but steadily 
• Sustainable business models are the only ones that will be able to compete in the future market place where resources are bound to be scarce
• The internet, social media and other technologies are making it impossible for companies to hide any step of their production processes. While there's a thin line between company confidentiality, and transparency to stakeholders, it can be easy to trespass it due to the internet, and companies need to be careful. 

As more organisations realise that they can't hide behind philanthropy, and  making genuine contributions is an imperative, it becomes obvious then that PR has little role in convincing audiences that the organisation is really oriented towards its operational environment. Winning trust is a by-product of CSR (and shouldn't be the end goal) but it's one that's very hard earned.