engleski

The Role of Public Relations in the Growth of Sustainable Consumerism

Within the trend of growth of sustainable business and corporate responsibility, sustainable consumerism has doubled or tripled in some developed European countries and in U.S. in the last ten years. Despite a certain growth in green products consumption, an increasing number of national cause related marketing campaigns and some sustainability driven trends in tourism, it is generally taken that Croatia still lags behind this trend. Since in ethical consumerism, not only fresh rules of marketing are considered, but, also, the crucial role of corporate communications as business function is widely acknowledged, the purpose of this paper is to debate the role of public relations function, particularly in consumer goods companies, in the development of sustainable consumerism. In a desk research of the role of public relations function in the corporate responsibility context, some basic public relations theories are used to clarify the importance of communication in addressing the needs of ethical consumers, and particularly the importance of communication or public relations corporate function in this context. Finally, a case of a global company oriented towards ethical consumers that is not yet present on Croatian market is used to simulate possible communication strategies that would be in compliance with the company’s corporate social responsibility strategy. A conclusion is drawn regarding the role of public relations function in the growth of sustainable consumption in general, and in the Croatian context in particular and some recommendations for future research made.

sustainable business; public relations; sustainable consumption; corporate responsibility; sustainable consumerism

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