Corporate Social Responsibility

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Integrating Corporate Social responsibility into an organization is a great way for a PR team to create a campaign that will not only enhance economic profits but ultimately benefit the society and environment. Looking into various ways a company can implement CSR is valuable because it can be in right and wrong ways. 

Activism Through Environmentalism 

Patagonia’s DamNation campaign set the standard for organizations to see the power of speaking on important subjects.

The brand effectively shared a story, educated, advocated, and increased customer engagement through the campaign.

Patagonia utilized various tactics to promote environmentalism such as emotional appeal, diverse media strategies, and remaining advocates through their store  (Moscato, 2016).

Watch this Film about DamNation 

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Valuing Public Health 

CVS shared that they strived for customers to live a healthy life but when Tabacco products were a major sale item they felt it contradicted its values.

CVS framed its decision to remove tobacco products as an improvement in public health and reminded the public it aligns with their company ethics( Ward, Roy, & Edmondson, 2016).

Taking away a product for the benefit of their client's health promoted CVS to the public despite some people having mixed emotions on the removal of tobacco products. 

Media Coverage on CVS ending Tabacco Sales in 2014 

Corporate Social Responsibility 

Capitol One took advantage of being one of the first financial companies to find environmentally sustainable ways to produce their products (n.d.).

They took advantage of the media and were proactive online to promote their campaign. From a PR perspective this was one of the strongest moves Capitol One could make because they were ahead of the game compared to their competitors. 

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Employee Labor Aligning with Values

Allegations were made that Nike had workers in poor labor conditions. Nike had to address the rumors and rebuild trust with the public. Being strategic on such a sensitive topic along with not abiding by you company’s values is critical. It is vital for companies to address corporate social responsibility because it reflects the ethics of a company. 

All in all, CSR is an important method to integrate into organizations because it ultimately is an environmental and societal enhancement despite potential economic losses (HEC Paris. (n.d.) . Looking at how companies have been able to use CSR to promote their brand should be a motivator for other organizations to find ways to become activists on topics they care about. 

Citations

Moscato, D. (2016). The brand behind the activism: Patagonia’s DamNation campaign and the evolution of corporate social responsibility. Case Studies in Strategic Communication, 5, 99-116. Available online:

http://cssc.uscannenberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/v5art6.pd

Damnation. Patagonia. (2020a, July 6).

https://www.patagonia.com/stories/damnation/video-79847.html 

Youtube. (2014, February). CVS Announces Plan to Phase Out Cigarettes. Google search. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=brhbsE1XpA4

What is corporate social responsability (CSR)?. HEC Paris. (n.d.). https://www.hec.edu/en/faculty-research/centers/sustainability-organizations-institute/think/so-institute-executive-factsheets/what-corporate-social-responsability-csr#:~:text=Corporate%20Social%20Responsibility%20(CSR)%20is,of%20only%20considering%20economic%20profits. 

Ward, C. B., Roy, D. P., & Edmondson, D. R. (2016). Is CVS just ‘blowing smoke?’: Evaluating the CVS decision to ban tobacco products. Case Studies in Strategic Communication, 5, 249-264. Available online: http://cssc.uscannenberg.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/v5art14.pdf

Making Plastics Green: Capitol One’s Commitment to Sustainability, N.d

Nike CSR, n.d.