Council of Public Relations Firms - Statement of Principles

Statement of Principles

In their service to clients, public relations firms play a vital role in encouraging public discourse. The professionalism and objectivity of our firms helps clients engage in that discourse, and clients turn to us for our counsel and assistance to vigorously pursue their organizational goals in educating or persuading audiences that matter most to them. Public relations firms help clients as diverse as government agencies, public and private companies, and not-for-profit groups. In a democratic and free-market society, our clients' goals often put us in the sphere of such complex issues as thorny policy debates, intense market competition or critical education needs in areas of public health, safety and well-being.

Our overriding principle is that openness and transparency not only are in the public interest, they are also necessary tools for meeting our clients' objectives. Members of the Council of Public Relations Firms embrace our responsibilities to open and transparent dialogue. We carry out our business in accordance with the following principles that guide our relationships with clients and the public.

1. We adhere to the highest standards of ethics in the public relations profession.
The employees of public relations firms are members of a profession which has well-established guidelines for ethical behavior as summarized in the Council’s Code of Ethics. We expect each of our employees to commit themselves to those guidelines, and advise our clients' communications professionals to do so as well.

2. We are committed to accuracy.
Accuracy is fundamental to our business. There may be different points of view about issues and or products, but standards for factual accuracy are clear. We dedicate ourselves to accuracy - the spirit of it as well as the letter of it. We will advise our clients to be transparent and willing to engage in debate and discussion.

3. We believe that our clients and the public are best served when third party relationships with spokespeople, bloggers, partners and allies are open and transparent.
Our bias in counseling clients is toward disclosure, which we believe is appropriate as a principle and effective as a communications tool.

Third-party spokespersons, such as scientists, economists, scholars, celebrities, online media “influencers” such as bloggers, or other third party content experts who are involved in word of mouth communications, enrich the public discourse. Third-party organizations such as alliances or coalitions may be created to promote our clients' interests. When a spokesperson, expert or organization is paid for participation we will not conceal the relationship.

Our clients and the public are best served when any relationship between third-party organizations and our clients is fully disclosed and when the sponsors of public relations tools such as video news releases and web sites are clearly identified.

4. Working for Federal, state and local governmental entities involves a unique responsibility as it is paid for by taxpayers' dollars and, like the rest of our work, must uphold the public trust at all times. We are conscientious stewards of taxpayer dollars.
Members of the Council of Public Relations Firms are proud to play a vital role in the development and implementation of these programs.

We recognize and accept this responsibility and act in accordance with the highest degree of ethical and financial conduct.

We strictly adhere to government rules and regulations regarding procurement and execution of government business and maintain the necessary training programs and physical infrastructure necessary to deliver on that commitment. We will not offer financial inducement or other payments to elected officials or civil servants except in accordance with applicable law, and we will employ former public service personnel only in accordance with the rules and confidentiality requirements of their former government or institutional employers.

We believe that the public is entitled to know the identity of our government clients. We encourage government agencies and their communications agency partners to publicly disclose all contractual relationships.

We will not misrepresent our status or the nature of inquiries to public bodies or create false impressions in relations with such bodies.

5. We value diversity and inclusion in our profession.
We believe that a diverse workforce that includes individuals of different backgrounds, beliefs and perspectives strengthens our member firms and the profession. When selecting subcontractors and vendors, we seek assistance from a broad array of partners and suppliers to increase opportunities for minority owned, women owned and small businesses. The more “voices” that are present, the better able we are as advisors to help our clients speak to an increasingly complex world.

6. We are committed to agency practices that increase society's confidence in the practice of public relations.
When we engage with journalists, bloggers or other organizations, we disclose who we represent. We respect the opinions of journalists and other spokespeople as their own. We do not retain journalists to represent client interests in their media. We expect bloggers and other online influencers to be honest and accurate.

We will implement policies within our firms to carry out these principles, and we will train our employees about the imperative of upholding them and effectively communicating their importance to clients.

Additionally, The Council of Public Relations Firms, as part of its membership in the International Communications Consultancy Organisation (ICCO), participated in the development of the ICCO Stockholm Charter which was adopted in 2003. Firms must adhere to this charter as a part of the criteria of membership into the Council.

June 2, 2005
Revised October 2009

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