Companies can only operate because the public gives them a “licence to do so”. These days this means the public has an increased expectation on companies to take a more holistic view of their operations, and their effect on stakeholders, broader community and the environment.
Edelman believes that companies’ responsible conduct and sustainability strategies go beyond just reputation considerations and are directly related to business continuity, employee morale and market expansion.
Edelman ensures that companies communicate at every level their CSR commitment by identifying, addressing and marrying three important areas of the business that relate to opportunity and risk:
- Operations: analysing a company’s social and environmental efforts and their impact;
- Communications: determining how the company best communicates about what it is doing; and
- Perceptions: knowing key audiences’ perceptions and engaging them about the company’s positions and actions.
In doing this our CSR practice provides counsel and programming to companies in a several sectors using tools such as:
- stakeholder and influencer mapping and engagement;
- communications campaigns;
- corporate /sustainability reporting;
- management training;
- issues management;
- public-private partnerships;
- public affairs; and
- strategic philanthropy
