PR Newswire, the global leader in commercial news distribution, and CSRwire, the leading source of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability news, have partnered to create the most comprehensive distribution channel for CSR-related news, reports and information, the companies announced today.
(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20000306/PRNLOGO ) (Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20071022/NYM080 ) To view the Multimedia News Release, go to: http://www.prnewswire.com/mnr/prnewswire/30226/
Through the partnership, PR Newswire's customers will now have the ability to communicate their socially responsible initiatives to a highly specialized audience provided through CSRwire's targeted network. In addition, as the partnership develops, CSRwire's customers will have access to a number of PR Newswire's industry-leading services such as ProfNet, and the multimedia and broadcast capabilities of MultiVu.
"CSR is such an important part of business today," said Dave Armon, chief operating officer, PR Newswire. "Companies of all sizes are engaging in practices that link their business with their values, and thus engage the interests of all their stakeholders from employees to customers to investors to business partners, and the community and environment at large. Advocates believe that communicating CSR practices increases competitive advantage and attracts talent, while serving the best interest of stakeholders. CSR advocates also believe that avoiding risks associated with environmental, social and governance factors supports sustainable growth and fundamental value."
"CSRwire has done an exemplary job of creating a means for companies to communicate their CSR activities beyond the traditional audiences of the media, investors and customers," Armon continued. "Their distribution service reaches academics, activists, influencers at CSR organizations, socially responsible investment houses, NGOs, educational institutions and government bodies. This partnership will enable our customers to reach this highly influential and targeted audience with messages about their social and environmental initiatives."
"When deciding whether to invest or buy, investors and customers are looking for a fuller picture of a company -- beyond its balance sheet," said Joe Sibilia, president of CSRwire. "PR Newswire works with tens of thousands of organizations, and this partnership will give these organizations the opportunity to communicate some of the intangibles -- specifically their CSR initiatives -- that go beyond their balance sheet, directly to highly targeted audiences, in addition to the traditional media and investor audiences. This will put these companies in a more optimal position to attract better talent, raise more capital, and benefit from stronger valuations."
Sibilia continued, "We chose to work with PR Newswire because they, along with their parent company United Business Media, are engaged in good CSR practices themselves. They understand the impact on their stakeholders, and the value in communicating CSR initiatives."
CSRwire distributes news releases every day from companies discussing issues such as diversity, philanthropy, socially responsible investing, environment, human rights, workplace issues, business ethics, community development and corporate governance. In addition to a News Alert service, CSRwire also delivers its customers' news and information to key CSR-related Web sites such as Business for Social Responsibility, GreenBiz, and Sustainable Business.
Over the past five years, PR Newswire has built its own CSR news channel that reaches thousands of journalists who have self-selected this content on PR Newswire for Journalists, a media-only Web site that generates an average of 1.5 million press release views each month and is used by tens of thousands of journalists. In addition, PR Newswire distributes CSR news to thousands of Web sites including CSR specific sites such as Environmental News Network, Philanthropy Journal, and Corporate Citizenship International, Inc., portals and search engines such as Yahoo! Google, AOL, MSN and Ask.com, and general media sites such as Forbes, the Los Angeles Times, and the network of Business Journals websites.
"In a perfect world, all businesses would engage in CSR practices," said Greg Schneider, chief operating officer, CSRwire. "The more we are able to get the word out about companies that are CSR-conscious, the more likely other businesses will follow suit. Many of PR Newswire customers are engaged in socially responsible endeavors, while others are just becoming aware of the potential value and benefits of being socially responsible. This partnership will enable more companies to communicate their CSR progress to a much wider audience than ever before. And this is just the beginning."
"As our partnership develops, we will look at other ways in which to bring PR Newswire's other industry leading products to the CSR marketplace," said Schneider. "Of most relevance initially will be ProfNet, PR Newswire's expert network that reporters regularly rely on to find sources for stories. Together we will make this a truly collaborative forum for CSR-related conversations."
About PR Newswire
PR Newswire Association LLC (http://www.prnewswire.com/) provides electronic distribution, targeting, measurement and broadcast services on behalf of tens of thousands of corporate, government, association, labor, non-profit, and other customers worldwide. Using PR Newswire, these organizations reach a variety of critical audiences including the news media, the investment community, government decision-makers, and the general public with their up-to-the-minute, full-text news developments.
Established in 1954, PR Newswire has offices in 13 countries and routinely sends its customers' news to outlets in 135 countries and in more than 40 languages. Utilizing the latest in communications technology, PR Newswire content is considered a mainstay among news reporters, investors and individuals who seek breaking news from the source. PR Newswire's leading services include ProfNet Experts(SM), eWatch™, MEDIAtlas™, Search Engine Optimization, MediaRoom, MediaSense™, MultiVu™, U.S. Newswire, the preeminent policy newswire in the industry, and Vintage Filings, the fastest growing Edgar filing company. PR Newswire is a subsidiary of United Business Media plc of London.
About CSRwire
CSRwire (http://www.csrwire.com/) is the leading source of corporate social responsibility and sustainability news, reports and information. CSRwire members are companies and NGOs, agencies and organizations interested in communicating their corporate citizenship, sustainability, and socially responsible initiatives to a global audience through CSRwire's syndication network and weekly News Alerts. CSRwire content covers issues of Diversity, Philanthropy, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Environment, Human Rights, Workplace Issues, Business Ethics, Community Development and Corporate Governance.
CSRwire's parent company, Meadowbrook Lane Capital, LLC, has been described as a 'socially responsible investment bank' by the Wall Street Journal. The company specializes in turning values into valuation while concentrating on succession issues for mission driven companies. Meadowbrook Lane and CSRwire's offices are located on Gasoline Alley in Springfield, Massachusetts -- a chemically contaminated, industrial area in an underserved community. During the past ten years, Meadowbrook Lane has worked to revitalize this community through the Gasoline Alley Foundation and operates a small business incubator to help launch socially responsible businesses.
Contact Information Rachel Meranus Greg Schneider VP, Public Relations, PR Newswire Chief Operating Officer, CSRwire 201.360.6776 802.251.0110rachel.meranus@prnewswire.com greg@csrwire.com
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CONTACT: Rachel Meranus, VP, Public Relations of PR Newswire,
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