Green PR

The history of green PR dates back to 70-80 years of the twentieth century, when the issue of excessive use of natural resources and environmental pollution by large corporations arose. The first “green” campaigns were carried out by environmental organizations Greenpeace International, WSPA , World Wide Fund for Nature (measures against air pollution due to industrial development and the disappearance of certain species of animals and plants), these projects received support not only from the public, but also from a number of corporations, like large multinational companies ( the Walmart , the Volkswagen , of General Motors ) and small organizations (Dutch brand Kuyichi, the company American Apparel ), have adopted the idea that the business activity of any community depends on the state of vironment. Thus, through the promotion of the idea of ​​nature conservation and corporate social responsibility in company activities, the main goal of green PR was realized - increasing brand awareness and improving the image of the organization. Today, the green PR ideology is based on an understanding of the social responsibility of business - voluntary business activity aimed at developing society in the social, economic and environmental aspects. This activity should be connected with the main activity of the company and actively covered for the public.

Today, green PR uses the following methods for brand recognition and improving the company's reputation:

• cooperation with environmental non-governmental humanitarian organizations and joint implementation of environmental projects;
• distribution of information on the activities of the company that does not have a negative impact on the environment in the media , as well as the creation of environmental advertising products and their placement in the media and social networks;
• conducting environmental events, participating in such events;
• publication of environmental reporting organization;
• managing a section on the organization’s official website, which reveals aspects of the company’s activities related to environmental care.

The strategy of green PR is to form an opinion among the public about the social responsibility of the company and its environmental orientation. Tactical steps to implement this strategy consist in the implementation of individual public relations campaigns and complex environmental public relations campaigns. Depending on the object of green PR, tactics consist in the complexity and duration of events - from actions to plant trees and clean territories from household waste to scientific developments that change the approach to production to a more sparing approach to energy consumption and resource conservation.

However, green PR in recent decades has been criticized regarding its activities. Every year, companies spend hundreds of millions of dollars on reporting on saving the planet, but, according to experts, the money is spent not on real modernization of production, but on reports about their own environmental activities, "painting the image" in green and, in fact, discrediting the environmental movement. Bruce Harrison, one of the best specialists in the field of green PR, writes that in environmental PR there is exclusively propaganda of companies, and not coverage of their activities. In addition, myths have developed in green PR - in particular, that the whole problem of humanity today is household waste, and that recycling will solve all environmental issues. John Stauber, co-author of Toxic Sludge is Good for You, says industrial companies are committed to green ideas while lobbying for anti-environmental laws. Thus, the idea of ​​green PR has today become the subject of debate and manipulation of public consciousness.

Today, green PR is understood as activities to prevent the effects of climate change and preserve the environment. Among the principles of green PR are the following:

• respect for the diversity of nature and cultural values, responsibility for their conservation;
• the principle of participation in the conservation of nature;
• responsibility for preserving the world before future generations;
• life is understood as the greatest value worth preserving.

Mass culture interprets this concept in the following context:

• development of environmentally friendly energy technologies aimed at reducing fuel volumes and carbon dioxide emissions and informing the public about this. This area is perceived as the sphere of activity of large corporations (for example, Gazprom , although public opinion about this corporation has been somewhat shaken after the project of building the North European Gas Pipeline along the bottom of the Baltic Sea);
• environmental actions, Environmentally friendly position (this position is supported, for example, by Stella McCartney , Jean-Michel Cousteau , Robert Kennedy );
• scientific developments related to solving environmental problems, for example, the activities of the Patagonia brand for the study of the ocean floor);
• product development projects focused on environmentally friendly production, for example, the manufacture of clothing from recycled materials, the use of energy-saving technologies.

• Public relations
• The brand
• Image
• PR strategy
• Green camouflage

• Abelmas N.V. Universal Guide to Public Relations. M .: Phoenix; 2008.302 p.
• Poltava Yu.Yu. Green PR as an innovative tool for shaping the image of a modern company // Scientific community of the XXI century. http://sibac.info/archive/economy/4.pdf