PUBLIC RELATIONS GOES GREEN


This weekend I finally watched Al Gore's 'An Inconvenient Truth'. I had been putting it off for a while as I knew that Al would make me feel all kinds of guilt, fear and trepidation. However, seeing as the weather this weekend was dismal and I had become a soccer widow for the day, I decided to dig the DVD out from the back of the cupboard and face my fears.

My fears were confirmed. 'An Inconvenient Truth' left me feeling somewhat anxious and spurred me to race around the entire house frantically switching off lights.

It did have one other effect. It got me thinking about what we should be doing to help solve the ever-escalating global warming problem and what PR's role should be.

In my opinion, there are a number of things that public relations companies can do. Firstly, do not take on a client if you do not agree with how they run their company. If you disagree with their practices and think that they are unethical do not work with them. This is easier said than done if you are a mere account executive but is definitely a stand that owners/directors of PR companies should be taking.

Secondly, encourage your existing clients to take some steps towards becoming more environmentally friendly. Some things that businesses can do include using local products and services, recycling and becoming CarbonNeutral. Increasing numbers of people are deciding whether or not they use a company based on how eco-friendly they are so convince your clients to make environmentalism a part of their brands.

A number of 'green' PR companies, including Green Planet PR in the United Kingdom, have sprung up in recent years. These consultancies only take on green businesses as clients and focus primarily on making people aware of environmental issues. Other agencies, such as Intermediary Communications in New Zealand and MWW Group in the United States, make a special effort to incorporate green PR and corporate social responsibility services into all of their strategies.

I think more businesses should be following this lead. After all, without this planet there would be no business. There would be no public relations consultancies. All of those things that we take for granted would be gone.

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