"CSR purists" tend to have a negative view of PR, seeing spin in place of substance. It is as if they fear that some will think that CSR is only PR, a nice story presented to off-set bigger problems.

To counter the image of CSR as fluff or spin, these purists proclaim the value of metrics. If it doesn't have metrics, or isn't prescribed by the GRI (Global Reporting Initiative – a standard for reporting CSR externally), then they turn up their collective noses at it. Of course metrics are important – for CSR or PR. Companies have to back up claims of environmental or social goodness.

PR agencies have an important stake in the rapidly growing CSR field. CSR reports are increasingly the focal point for CSR strategy and tracking results. These reports are generally designed and created by CSR purists, and involve the most senior leadership at Fortune 100 companies. Often the CSR Report (also called Sustainability or Citizenship Report) is created by teams who report into functions other than communications (legal, government relations, public affairs, environment).

As such, these reports often have a text book feel to them, created for other CSR professionals but not for a wider audience. Similarly, without communications input, many of the larger stories, often good for the company and the cause, are never told beyond the report, or highlighted for different audiences, including the press.

When the corporate communications departments, and their PR agencies, finally get the review and input, it comes with a mandate: "OK, here's the report, go promote it." PR agency executives are then left to pick through a massive tome (these reports are approaching 100 plus pages in many cases) and see what can be pitched to the media.

To avoid this scenario, PR executives need to get smart and take a page from the playbook of the CSR purists. There's no magic here; just get educated about the issues and the jargon and then ask for a seat at the table. PR professionals should involve themselves in every step of CSR reporting – from strategy to data collection to the creation of the public document. Our value is in knowing the media – a key stakeholder, to use the lingo – and having a keen sense of what makes a good story. PR agencies, once armed with basic knowledge about CSR, should focus on three areas when advising clients:

Relevancy: Look at all of the data and anecdotal stories with an eye to materiality: what really matters to the business of this firm? Are the stories being told, and data presented, really focusing on what's important? For example, if a firm's biggest challenge is with using outsourced labor in China, five stories about the great things being done with a small US white collar workforce aren't as relevant. Similarly, a company that operates only in developed countries probably shouldn't trumpet its great policy for working with indigenous peoples in the developing world.

Narrative: Help the purists to see the forest for the trees. What kind of story does the data tell about the company? How do we generalize about the company and its values from a recitation of numbers and programs? So the company reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 30% over the last few years. How does this compare to others? Where does this commitment fit within the context of the business and its mission?

Honesty: The report cannot simply recite the company's good works with some pretty pictures of butterflies and forests. It needs to present a balanced look at the company's impacts on society from a social, economic and environmental (triple bottom line) perspective. Play reporter and look at this with a critical eye. Is the data positioned in its most favorable light (i.e. percentage changes without showing real numbers)? Is a pilot program in operation at one location presented as company wide initiative? A good reporter will see through the generalizations and ask the hard questions, and agency executives should do the same.

In conclusion, PR agencies should get educated and engage the purists early on. PR is not a dirty word – and should not be presented as fluff or spin. Rather, it is a way of communicating what a company is doing to a diverse group of constituencies. PR should be proudly embraced as companies engage the public in a dialogue about their impacts – positive and negative – on society. Good PR input strengthens CSR reports and the stories and media pitches that derive from those documents. The purists need to be persuaded that we are their allies in relating to the public; not their enemies. There's enough room for all of us at the CSR table.