Hill & Knowlton, one of the world’s leading Public Relations and Communications consultancies, participated in Kuwait’s 2nd Conference on Corporate Social Responsibility this week. Ammara Khan, Hill & Knowlton’s Director for CSR and Corporate Governance put forward a strong business case for CSR.
Khan explained that the essential concepts governing CSR have been an integral component of societies, commerce, as well as cultural and religious tradition for centuries. The Islamic tradition of Zakat is one key example of this.
CSR integrates social, environmental, and economic considerations into the decision-making structures and processes of a business. Within today’s context, organisations are rediscovering the importance of ‘giving back’ to society in order to meet stakeholder expectations and benefit from favourable corporate reputation.
“Increasingly, organisations are being evaluated by their various stakeholders on the environmental impact of their operations, the activities in the communities in which they operate, the treatment of employees and how they respond to the needs of society at large.” Khan added, “In an environment where new media allows for immediate access to information and where government, media and consumers are requiring transparency and accountability, organisations are expected to be responsible for their actions and to proactively support and develop the communities in which they operate.
“Businesses can use CSR to produce direct benefits for their bottom line. These include stronger financial performance and profitability through operational efficiency gains, improved relations with the investment community, enhanced employee relations, stronger community relationships, and of course all benefits that come with improved reputation’
Khan discussed the critical components to a successful CSR strategy and reinforced that CSR can be much more than a cost constraint or charitable deed for an organisation. It can become a source of opportunity, innovation, and competitive advantage.
“Organisations committed to developing their own CSR strategy need to establish the business value proposition as well as determine the optimal parameters, in relation to expertise and focus themes, for the development and implementation of their CSR programmes,“ Khan concluded.
About Hill & Knowlton
Hill & Knowlton (www.hillandknowlton.com) is a leading international communications consultancy, providing services to local, multinational and global clients. The firm is based in New York, with 71 offices in 40 countries, as well as an extensive associate network. The agency is part of WPP (NASDAQ: WPPGY, www.wpp.com), one of the world’s largest communications services groups.
Hill & Knowlton EMEA won ‘Best Agency’ from the International Business Awards (‘Stevies’) for 2005.
About WPP
WPP is one of the world’s leading communications services groups. Its companies offer a comprehensive and, when appropriate, integrated range of communications services to clients around the world, including more than 330 of the Fortune Global 500; over one-half of the NASDAQ 100 and 42 of the Fortune e-50. WPP’s 62,000 people work from 1400 offices in 103 countries.
Hill & Knowlton Corporate Social Responsibility Offer
Today, more than ever, the public expects companies to operate within the parameters of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) — to conduct themselves in a responsible and ethical manner while providing transparency in their business dealings, accountability to their stakeholders, and sustainability to society and the environment.
Hill & Knowlton can enhance corporate reputation by building and bringing cohesion to the often disparate corporate programmes that make up a CSR strategy. We can help ensure that a company or organisation’s policies and programmes are doing all they can to foster constructive dialogue and to understand and meet public and stakeholder expectations for transparent and responsible behaviour.
We have the experience and expertise to guide corporations through all facets of CSR organisation, strategy development and execution: auditing and benchmarking, shaping and maximising efforts through strategic planning, initiating programmes and communicating results.
