Social Responsibility Beyond Environmentalism?

On Thursday 18th January, MSC Napoli, a cargo ship containing 2,400 containers of goods and dangerous chemicals was beached off the Devon coast. Although efforts by coastguards to remove 3,500 tonnes of oil from the ship are helping to alleviate a potential environmental disaster, the incident has also created another issue, with hundreds of people helping themselves to goods which have been washed ashore.

Goods taken by scavengers, have so far included, around 50 BMW motorcycles, wine casks, and perfume. Despite police efforts to encourage people to report goods that have been taken, some items have already started to appear on the online auction site, e-Bay.

Police and costal authorities have been quick to criticise the action of looters and have warned those taking goods that they could face prosecution under the Merchant Shipping Act 1995.

Despite such action, there has yet to be any form of comment from those companies which own the goods that have been washed ashore. In a year which looks set to be characterised by an increased emphasis on social responsibility, surely these companies should respond to the issue in some way.

Although not responsible for the shipwreck itself, companies such as BMW, could help to encourage looters which have taken goods, to co-operate with the relevant authorities. Assuming some degree of responsibility would be far better than simply ignoring the situation and allowing potentially damaged and dangerous products, to be sold on to unsuspecting consumers.

Blogging is good for democracy

According to the latest report from the Pew Internet and American Life Project, Americans are now using the internet as a primary source for political information and news. According to the BBC, many people contribute to political debate by blogging.

The BBC reports that the increase in the number of households having broadband is one of the reasons Americans are embracing political debate, online. Perhaps, in the UK, with the speed of broadband set to increase and the cost expected to decrease, greater online activity will contribute to a healthy democracy.

Dangerous Ground

I’ve been following recent events regarding runway safety at Bristol Airport with a keen interest over the past weekend. My primary interest for following the issue is because my parents are due to fly from Bristol Airport later this week.

What initially started as a local issue, for the airport, soon escalated into a national issue, as more and more airlines, including Easyjet, decided to withdraw planes over concerns that planes were skidding when landing in wet weather.

The airport initially rejected claims that the runway was unsafe but eventually responded to pressure from airlines to close the runway and, over the last 24 hours, has carried out work on drainage systems.

According to the, Guardian, Bristol's problems were first highlighted on an internet forum, www.pprune.org, where pilots posted messages such as: "the middle point of the runway definitely seems dodgy.”

Although the runway has now been reopened, the issue demonstrates power and influence of new media and the need for PR practitioners to monitor new media as part of the issues management process.