An Interest in Corporate Green

So...conflict of interest and corporate social responsibility are the hot topics of the moment.

Conflict of interest...I would first like to start out by saying that conflict of interest is something we as social humanbeings face from birth to death nearly everyday. You're 16 and you want to go to that big party, but you don't want to make your parents mad, who hold the keys to your car and subsequently your freedom. Conflict of interest. You get a little older, you're in your twenties, you find out your best friend is cheating on her boyfriend, who is also your friend. Do you tell the boyfriend, or stay loyal to the friend? Conflict of interest. You graduate college, and you're in your nice, new cushy corporate job. You find out your new tenured friend at work maybe be fudging some numbers, but you don't want to be a whistle blower and crush your job dreams. Conflict of interest.

The difference lies in the fact that when the office elite and highly powerful (thus highly visible) CEOs of our nation decide to take the not so intelligent road when faced with a conflict of interest, we all see it. You may piss off your parents, your best friend my disown you, and your boss my fire you...but America doesn't care about Joe Schmo...they do, however, care about Lance Armstrong accepting money for cancer research from big tobacco. Case and point.


Corporate social responsibility...I think that all of these new ethics inspired groups, and interest in the environment are wonderful. That is if the codes and standards are actually enforced. There's a million laws in America (like the often joked about "no spitting on the sidewalk" rule) that are either to antiquated, or so off the wall that they are never enforced. For many years I believe green practices were one of those of the wall social laws. Now that we have faces like Al Gore spreading the green word, instead of Albert Einstein-esque, kooky scientist, more people are beginning to listen. More and more businesses are beginning to look in to ethical practices and environmental betterment, and I personally think that's great. Maybe in the future we can actually create ethical and environmental laws, instead of just loose standards and codes, and the world could be become a better (and greener) place to live in.

Squashing Spiders

I am thoroughly convinced by corporate America that business in these United States is just one giant conflict of interest. Money is money to those people, and as long as those ever-deepening pockets keep overflowing, why would they care where the money is coming from.

It's no longer about conflict of interest, it's about money, money, money. Making it, taking it, and keeping it.

On the other hand, I think it's the job of PR professionals to promote ethical use of celebrity and ethical advocacy (unlike Governor Perry and Lance Armstrong's buddy buddy proposition on this week's ballot.) The corporate world is one jumbled mess of money, deceit, and greed and it's our job in the world of PR to untangle the web string by string and squash the corrupted CEO spider attached at the end.

I mean, come on, no logically ethical person thinks it is even remotely acceptable to promote cancer research with money from cigarette companies, or advertise the ADA on sugary snacks...but it still happens every single day. Business takes money, and if your "enemy" is throwing money at your cause why (from a business standpoint) wouldn't you take it.

That's why everyone needs a good PR person to slap them on the wrist and say "Bad Lance, no cigarette money for you!"