EACD Working Group: CSR

December 2009

1. The CSR Working Group recently met as part of the EACD Anniversary. What have you and the other members taken from the meeting?

Our meeting was against the backdrop of the EACD's third anniversary conference, which was dedicated to regaining trust during crisis. We spoke about how to regain trust through CSR policies, which was augmented by two vivid presentations: the first about a global initiative for business social compliance by Stephanie Luong of the Foreign Trade Association, and the second about contemporary trends in regaining trust through CSR policies by Luminita Oprea, author of a book about CSR and an expert in innovative communication policies. The animated dialogue between colleagues, working for some of the companies most reputed for their CSR policies, as well as the desire to go further in cooperating and sharing our respective knowledge, was a great boost to the group. I believe that, if it was possible, we would probably still be there exchanging ideas.

2. What are your plans for the Working Group for 2010?

Our plans are three-fold: firstly, we will keep in direct contact with each other; secondly, we will fully exploit EACDnet, our new on-line social community platform, allowing us to maintain communication amongst our Group members, welcome new members, send out invitations for meetings and conferences, discuss interactively on working papers, and pool presentations, videos and research; thirdly to prepare an innovative CSR chapter for the 2010 Summit.

3. Are there any trends on the horizon in your field that will have a big impact on the members of your group?

Trends are created by the times of change we live in. We are facing the "eco²soc" (economic-ecologic & social) crises, while simultaneously having the possibility to take advantage of the "comm-boom". The conditions of crisis usually give birth to innovation and alternative solutions. The members of the group will share their know-how, while being aware that the future is now, that sustainability and social responsibility are synonyms of survival and not solely an accessory to corporate communication. The new trend is the communication of acts (not only words) of hope, performed by those who represent values. I feel that the experiment that we will share will result in success, and that reminds me of the axiom of the VINCI Group, for whom I work: "Real success is the success you share".

4. What do you personally hope this 'new' Working Group can achieve within the EACD network?

I do hope that it will become a wide port where new ideas will anchor or from where they will set sail towards new fertile lands, which will bear the fruits of sustainability. These lands are everywhere; EACD members are implementing their policies of sustainable responsibility, transforming their ideas into acts. Let's imagine the power of positive change that a network of thought and action can generate. Let's imagine a great number of communicators sharing the feeling that they are responsible for not only fulfilling the requirements of their job description, but also their duties vis-à-vis society and the planet. In the end, let everyone communicate the proof of their action to the world. The EACD's CSR working group can host a dream and export it to where true hope is the fuel of a better future.

5. What does CSR mean as a part of a modern public relations strategy?

In my opinion PR can serve CSR, but CSR is not here to primarily serve PR. Everything depends on why we are doing CSR. If the first answer is because we need to look like the good guys, then we are on the wrong path. PR cannot be the soul of CSR. PR is done for the good of a company or of an organisation, while CSR is done for the good of the community and the environment. The History of PR has shown that a PR strategy can support dictatorial regimes, polluting industries, and companies with no respect for human right. CSR lies on the opposite side of the spectrum. The perfect example of PR taking the lead over CSR is greenwashing. You can obtain a good reputation by mixing PR and CSR, but you need to pay attention to the ratio, and always check your incentives.

6. Can you explain a little about some of the CSR projects GEFYRA have been involved in?

GEFYRA (a subsidiary of VINCI) is the concessionaire company of the Rion - Antirion Bridge in Western Greece, a European mega-structure inaugurated on the eve of the Athens Olympics in 2004. As a unique technical achievement in an extremely seismically vulnerable region, it has received many awards for its innovative technological features. But now that the glory days of the construction are behind us, and we are now just the operators of the bridge, we are trying to improve the social and environmental status of the area through CSR policies. On a social level, our method is a "proximity policy" of promoting the self-investment of our people in civic associations supporting disabled persons, intercultural dialogue, and educative programs for social minorities and so on. Having the active citizen at the centre of our approach, we are active on an environmental level through the "Azure Society", a platform that we created for the salvage of sea-mammals by the citizens who are members of the four nautical clubs in our region and one Oceanographic Institute. During the present era of climate change, we are very active in reducing and off-setting our CO₂ emissions by investing a sum corresponding to our annual total of CO₂ tonnage into a renewable unit producing electricity by the gasification of biomass in the state of Karnataka in India. This is a practical synthesis between global environmental care and international social solidarity with citizens from different parts of the world who are in need of basic facilities.