Corporate Social Responsibility

University of California professor Ernest Partridge, who served until recently on the "public advisory panel" of the American Chemistry Council (formerly the Chemical Manufacturers Association), has written a memoir of his experiences. The public advisory panel, which brought together distinguished academics to advise the industry on safety and environmental issues, was part of the chemical industry's "Responsible Care" program, which was established to allay public concerns in the wake of the chemical plant disaster at Bhopal, India.

Boise Cascade is one of the worst transnational logging companies in the world. Its many scandals include: involvement in false imprisonment of peasant environmentalists who opposed Boise's logging in Mexico; a huge proposed woodchipping scheme in Southern Chile; threats of lawsuits and harassment to environmentalists, including a recent threat to ECO's Cath Wallace; and involvement with the campaign to get the Rainforest Action Network's tax-deductibility status removed. Thanks to the World Wide Fund for Nature, however, the company just got a green makeover.

The Body Shop has picked Ruder Finn to promote the company's U.S. store expansion. RF will handle several events and local PR campaigns aimed at increasing awareness and attracting traffic to Body Shop's new locations. In contrast with the Body Shop's animal and environment friendly image, Ruder Finn owns the almost legendary E. Bruce Harrison Company. Harrison is ironically considered "the founder of green PR" because of his work for the pesticide industry in the 1960s when he helped lead the attack on author Rachel Carson and her environmental classic, Silent Spring. E.

A majority of Americans consider corporate citizenship when making investment and purchasing decisions, but few companies get good marks, according to a survey sponsored by international PR firm Hill & Knowlton. Corporate philanthropy, a familiar standby for improving a corporation's image, may not always be effective.