In my last blog post, we talked about Shell being put on trial for in New York accused of playing a role in the killing of Nigerian writer and activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. If you missed our discussion, please click here.
What I wanted to discuss in this blog post is how you handle any type of bad publicity as it relates to your company, especially if you are positioning your brand and company as sustainable and socially responsible.
Being a sustainable company carries with it a degree of responsibility to treat people fairly, be kind to the environment, and be completely responsible as a company and corporation. Responsibility comes in the form of being transparent so that people know you are not trying to make yourself look perfect, but your brand more human—showing your flaws and all. It is easier and more forgivable for issues to come from you versus the media and it puts in less of reactionary position.
Obviously, human rights violations such as in Shell’s situation are some of the largest PR issues to tackle. Some consumers may not forgive them and others will expect them to prove how they have changed, or have put new practices in place to make sure this doesn’t happen in the future.
Any type of media crisis forces you to respond to the situation, address what happened, who was involved, then share the truth of the case (as much as you are allowed if you are under investigation), what happened, why it happened and what will change to prevent this from happening in the future. Also, how you plan to work with influential parties and governments to build a foundation for respecting human rights or for respecting the environment, etc.
One of the most important things to realize is that any human rights issues, environmental disaster or issue, has to be addressed before launching any sustainability or green message or initiative. If you need assistance in determining how to do this, my company has rolled out green marketing assessment tools that allows you to determine what you can and cannot say and how to address these types of situations. Email us at TMISales@pearlinter.org
Helping You Understand and Profit from Consumer Health and Green Trends
Colette Chandler
