Public Relations & Social Marketing Insight

Over the past 10 years, consumers have increasingly purchased brands from socially aware organizations.  With this shift, a huge emphasis has been placed on company procedures and sustainable practices. “Social responsibility has migrated from soft line to hard law,” says Paula Luff, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Hess Corporation.  

She is right.  It’s no longer an added bonus for a business to be socially responsible; it is what’s expected from society.  Companies must understand consumer demand for CSR-related information and develop an appropriateCSR strategy based on company branding and values.

The Better Business Bureau recently held their annual forum, “Transformers: How Corporate Responsibility Trends Are Changing Business Now” in downtown Manhattan. This session featured top corporate responsibility professionals sharing best practices and tactics to develop socially responsible programs based on the increased demand for this information from today’s consumers.

While the discussion was related to many elements of CSR programming and reporting, there were five key takeaways that every company should understand:...