PR Watch, Third Quarter 2002, Volume 9, No. 3

"When virtue has slept," the philosopher Nietzsche once quipped, "it will awake refreshed." His aphorism certainly applies to the public relations industry's current infatuation with "corporate responsibility," which has arisen precisely in response to the worst orgy of corporate irresponsibility in at least the past half century.

In the 1990s, PR firms earned fat commissions spreading the "buzz" that inflated the dot-com bubble--a glorified pyramid scheme that drained the assets of everyday Americans for the benefit of Wall Street bankers, and encouraged "creative" accounting practices that are only now coming to light.

by Sheldon Rampton

This year marks the tenth anniversary of the Rio Summit--an international conference organized by the United Nations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil to address the world's growing environmental problems, ranging from depletion of resources to species extinction and global warming. The collusion of western nations and major corporations undermined the effectiveness of the Rio Summit, which issued a number of lofty-sounding proclamations but steadfastly avoided meaningful commitments to real change. Now, a decade later, the consequences of that failure are becoming increasingly evident as the UN organizes a follow-up conference, dubbed "Rio+10," which is being held from August 26-September 4 in Johannesburg, South Africa.

by Sheldon Rampton

Like a number of leading PR firms, Ketchum has eagerly joined the bandwagon selling "corporate social responsibility" (CSR) as the best thing promising to transform the planet since--well, since the dot.com revolution.

In early 2001, Ketchum joined the United Nation's Global Compact, a set of voluntary principles through which businesses pledge to support human rights, labor and the environment.

by Sheldon Rampton

Three trends related to globalization are driving the rise of "corporate social responsibility": the rising protest movement against economic globalization, the "war on terrorism" that began on September 11, and recent corporate scandals.

The concept of "globalization" has multiple meanings. Corporations and their PR firms view globalization primarily in terms of the economic opportunities associated with opening local markets to international trade and investment. However, the "anti-globalization" movements which have arisen in response to corporate globalization are themselves global in scope. Activists from throughout the world shared information via the Internet during the "Battle of Seattle" in 1999, in which a broad range of environmental, labor and social activists challenged the World Trade Organization.

by Laura Miller

"Did I tie this right?" an Asian businessman asked me, pointing at a red bandana around his neck. I had just been watching the milling international crowd. It was an amusing scene--the world's business elite tying red and blue bandanas around their necks, posing for pictures atop mechanical bulls and with costumed "Old West" show girls, queuing up for barbecued ribs and chicken, all leading up to a rodeo exhibition sponsored by Coors Brewing, 3M, and Wells Fargo.