BulletProofBlog the blog on crisis communications

A story in The Economist last week detailed a now-famous 2008 protest that took place at the London headquarters of Unilever. Greenpeace activists outraged with the company’s use of palm oil in its products dressed as orangutans and scaled its corporate office building, disrupted business, and displayed banners condemning Unilever for damaging the ecosystem. The publicity stunt won widespread media attention and it wasn’t long before the company was forced to commit to obtaining palm oil ... READ MORE

Once again, allegations of poor working conditions overseas are creating major reputation problems for big brand names based in the United States. Ten years ago, it was Nike, The Gap and other high-profile apparel manufacturers that found themselves confronting charges of “sweatshop” labor practices in developing countries. Today, the claims have gone high-tech. A Chinese contractor producing iPhones and iPads for Apple, computers for Dell, and other products for major electronics companies is grappling with the ... READ MORE

As companies seek to enhance anti-corruption controls in the face of increased regulator and media scrutiny, it should be noted that there are a number of benchmarks against which any effective compliance program can be measured. There are U.S. Federal Sentencing Guidelines; Transparency International's Business Principles for Countering Bribery; the World Economic Forum’s Partnering Against Corruption Initiative (WEF PACI); the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development’s (OECD) Good Practice on Internal Controls, Ethics and Compliance; ... READ MORE

With all that’s been in the news recently, it might be easy to forget that there is nary a page in the annals of American history that wasn’t written, at least in part, because a bank made it possible. For more than 200 years, banks have provided the capital necessary for many of the United States’ most significant commercial and societal undertakings – and at a time when the financial services industry’s image needs to ... READ MORE

While the massive oil spill making its way towards America’s Gulf Coast is the most high profile incident to impact BP’s environmentally-friendly “Beyond Petroleum” positioning, it certainly isn’t the first. In 2007, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) hit BP with a largest-ever fine for alleged violations of the Clean Air Act. In 2006, a corroded BP pipeline was found to have spilled more than 250,000 gallons of oil into Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay. And in 2000, ... READ MORE

In this regular feature, Bulletproof interviews top plaintiffs' attorneys for their perspective on the crises likely to affect businesses in the near future. Today, as Deepwater Horizon lawsuits continue to mount in number and scope, we speak to Kurt Arnold, of Houston’s Arnold & Itkin LLP. Mr. Arnold has filed a case, Burkeen v. Transocean, in county court in Galveston, Texas, seeking unspecified damages on behalf of rig workers Joshua Kritzer, Bill Johnson, and Nick Watson, ... READ MORE

As part of a continuing series of Bulletproof Blog™ video interviews with thought leaders across multiple disciplines and industry sectors, I recently sat down with Julie Susman, President and CEO of the Jefferson Consulting Group, to discuss how government contractors can best navigate the rapidly changing federal procurement landscape, among other topics. A senior business executive and savvy Washington insider, Ms. Susman understands how to market services that streamline government missions and operations. Calling on more ... READ MORE

In an unprecedented nod to the significant brand damage that negative public perceptions can inflict on even the most successful companies, investment banking giant Goldman Sachs has cited “adverse publicity” as an important “Risk Factor” in its 2010 Annual Report. While the move may not surprise some, especially given the recent criticism Goldman Sachs has endured on issues ranging from executive compensation to the degree to which it played a role in the global financial meltdown, ... READ MORE

Recent rules issued by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) have set a new standard of transparency and accountability for the 2010 proxy season. But with investor confidence still reeling from global financial meltdown, the foremost challenge for public companies as annual meetings begin isn’t simple compliance; it is finding ways to go above and beyond what is required in order to articulate leadership at a time of drastic change. In this month’s edition of ... READ MORE

The results of a Zogby poll released yesterday show that despite mounting criticism of Toyota for its handling of auto recalls, most Americans still believe that the world’s largest car manufacturer is a safe bet. The survey, conducted between February 17th and 19th, found that 85 percent of Toyota owners “believe the brand is more or equally safe as other vehicles.” When the sample size is expanded to include non-Toyota owners as well, that majority ... READ MORE