Fleishman-Hillard Sustainability

sustainability_chart2 Today’s businesses don’t just recognize their responsibility to protect the environment — they know that protection and profitability must go hand in hand.

Fleishman-Hillard’s Sustainability practice helps companies worldwide achieve the healthy balance of social, environmental and economic factors that makes for a truly sustainable business.

Our experts work with clients across a broad range of industries to:

Identify emerging issues, trends and threats;
Deepen their understanding of regulatory environments and third-party influencers;
Create strategies and initiatives that effectively manage natural resources to meet both today’s and tomorrow’s economic and social needs;
Bring greater alignment between corporate citizenship initiatives and core business needs and competencies;
Communicate these efforts to key stakeholders – including current and prospective customers and employees, investors, legislators, regulators and the news media; and
Engage employees to help meet business objectives.

As a global agency, we can tap specialists not just in environmental issues, but also in the fields of public affairs, investor relations, internal communications, reputation management, digital communications and media relations.

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What’s in a name?

Ask 10 people to define “sustainability” or “corporate social responsibility” – or better yet, distinguish between the two – and you’re likely to get 10 different answers. Here’s how we see it, borrowing from some well-accepted definitions:

“Sustainability” is…

“Meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs.” – Brundtland Commission, 1987.

“Corporate social responsibility” is…

“CSR is the deliberate inclusion of public interest into corporate decision-making.” – Wikipedia

“CSR is not a marketing or branding strategy – it’s a business and operational strategy, and an important way to manage business.” – Paul Argenti, chief advisor to Fleishman-Hillard affiliate CCW (Communications Consulting Worldwide)

Both sustainability and CSR can be measured by the “triple bottom line”…

An accounting and reporting framework that measures an organization’s progress along three lines: “economic prosperity, environmental quality and social justice.” – John Elkington, founder of SustainAbility and author of “Cannibals With Forks”