Corporate Communication and CSR Practices of The Body Shop Company

This report provides a comprehensive analysis of The Body Shop's corporate communication strategies and their integration with corporate social responsibility (CSR). It begins with an executive summary and introduction, emphasizing the increasing importance of CSR and issues management in contemporary businesses. The report explores the integration of CSR and issues management, supported by theories such as stakeholder theory and rhetorical theory, which are used to understand how the company addresses the interests and rights of its stakeholders, including customers, employees, investors, and the environment. The report details the role of CSR within Body Shop, highlighting its commitment to ethical sourcing, animal protection, and environmental sustainability. It examines the company's communication strategies, including public relations, advertising, and social media, and evaluates the consistency of its messaging across various channels. The report concludes with specific recommendations for improvement, aimed at enhancing the company's competitive edge in the market. Overall, the report underscores The Body Shop's dedication to socially responsible programs and its consistent communication of these values to its stakeholders.

Running head: BODY SHOP CORPORATE COMMUNICATION REPORT 1
Body Shop Corporate Communication Report
Student’s Name
Institutional Affiliation

BODY SHOP CORPORATE COMMUNICATION REPORT 2
Body Shop Corporate Communication Report
Executive Summary
Companies around the world are in one way or another participating in corporate social
responsibility (CSR). Those who ignore such activities are always facing numerous challenges
such as riots, strikes, and pressure from activists. The success of social responsibility activities
depends on how an organization understands CSR issues management. This paper details
corporate communication for the Body Shop Company and how its CSR programs addresses
interest and rights of its stakeholders such as customers, employees, investors, Stockholders, and
environment. The company has numerous programs that champion for the rights and interest of
both human and animals. The paper details out what CSR and issues management means and
how they integrate. The theories such as stakeholder theory and rhetorical theory have been used
to understand CSR issues management. Additionally, the paper has discussed CSR practices and
communication within the Body Shop in relations to CSR programs. The paper identifies various
roles of CSR and issues management and the consistency of the communication message used by
Body Shop. The company has maintained a consistent message about being dedicated to socially
responsible programs. However, every stakeholder gets the specific and consistent message that
addresses his or her unique interests and rights. Finally, the paper gives particular
recommendations on some of the areas that the company needs to improve to continue being
competitive in the market.
Table of Contents

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Executive Summary.....................................................................................................................................2
Introduction.................................................................................................................................................3
Integrating CSR and Issues Management....................................................................................................4
Stakeholder Theory.................................................................................................................................4
Theory Surrounding Issues Management....................................................................................................5
System Theory on Issue Management.....................................................................................................5
CSR Issues Management.............................................................................................................................6
Role of CSR within Body Shop...................................................................................................................6
Role of CSR Issues Management for Body Shop........................................................................................8
The consistency of Body Shop communication messages...........................................................................9
Evaluation of Communication in Body Shop and Specific Recommendations..........................................10
Recommendation.......................................................................................................................................11
Conclusion.................................................................................................................................................11
References.................................................................................................................................................12
Introduction
Nearly every company has recognized the need and the benefit of taking part in corporate
social responsibility. Businesses are expected to be socially responsible, which is widely known

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as the corporate social responsibility (CSR) (Oyvind, Bartlett, & May, 2014). Businesses are
expected to take care of social and environmental concerns in their operations as well as in their
interactions with all the stakeholders. In the current world, stakeholders require organizations to
communicate their position regarding social responsibility. For instance, 50% of the US
consumers have boycotted products of companies that offer poor customer service, low-quality
products, and actions that are not sound to the environment (Nylander, 2010). This demonstrates
the need for issues management regarding CSR issues that organizations face. Issues
management is supposed to be done openly and in a transparent manner. The way problems are
managed differentiates a major crisis from the manageable situation. This paper is a report on
CSR and corporate communication strategy used by Body Shop Company.
Integrating CSR and Issues Management
Corporate social responsibility and issues management has become part of the
contemporary businesses. It is nearly impossible for any business to maintain its competitive
advantage without taking part in CSR programs. However, CSR has various risks and issues that
when not properly managed can plunge the business into more problem (Brønn & Brønn, 2002).
Through issue management, companies can define their strategies on the best way to respond to
activities groups who always complain about a stricter control on the activities of the business.
Consequently, CSR and issues management are mostly integrated to give the business an
opportunity to address emerging issues before they get to the public (Ranängen, 2017). There are
specific theories that best describe corporate social responsibility and issues management.
Stakeholder Theory
According to the stakeholder theory, organizations are expected to constitute groups in
the society apart from the shareholders and operate beyond what the law and regulation require.

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Consequently, it is a theory that focuses on those who have claim or stake in the firm and they
include employees, shareholders, suppliers, customers, the environment, and the local
community. The stakeholder theory demonstrates that the primary goal of the firm is to create
wealth for the stakeholders through conversion of their stake in services and goods (Brown &
Forster, 2013). According to Martínez, Fernández, and Fernández (2016), corporate social
responsibility inspires organizations to attend to the interests and rights of every category of
stakeholder. It takes into consideration the rights and interest of every stakeholder and not only
what is required as per the law.
Theory Surrounding Issues Management
Issues arise when an organization there is a gap between what the company does and
what the public expects. Issue management is, therefore, the effort that the organization put to
bridge the legitimacy gap that exists (Zhang & Borden, 2017). Businesses are expected to search
for and attain concurrence that meets the standards of the corporate responsibility. Organizations
must strive to be good if they are to do what is right and that requires a complete overhaul in the
core business. The theory that best explains the concept of issue management is the rhetorical
theory.
System Theory on Issue Management
Rhetorical theory is essential as it offers the rationale for dialogue when there is a conflict
with the aim of forming collective meaning. It is more of social construction that promotes
collaborative decision-making and co-created meaning through statement and counter statement
paradigm (Einwiller & Johar, (2013). In the issue management situations, businesses rhetoric is
meant to influence the public attention to other aspects on the matter in contention (Bowen &
Heath, 2005). Successful management of any problem requires the organization to be a good

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business before thinking of ways to address the issue (Heath & Palenchar, 2009). Organizations
are not supposed to be reactive to matters but proactive, which can be achieved through various
corporate social responsibility programs where the interest and rights of all stakeholders are
respected.
CSR Issues Management
Consumers currently want to deal with organizations that take part in activities that are
environmentally sound and have excellent customer service. Organizations whose values go
against the social responsibilities face boycott and protests from consumers and employees.
Corporate social responsibility is one of the ways through which companies avoid negative
publications (Nylander, 2010). It calls for proper issues management techniques to ensure crises
are solved appropriately and timely. For instance, activist groups will always take such
opportunities to lobby the regulators to come up with stricter control on business. Issues
management comes in to help organizations come up with the most effective ways of countering
such efforts by an activist group (Heath & Palenchar, 2011). Before thinking of countering the
complaints from the stakeholders, the business needs to have its core value integrated into social
responsibilities to prevent it from getting into issues or crisis.
Role of CSR within Body Shop
The company honour principle of CSR is the Body Shop Company. A Human Right
Founder called Anita Roddick was the founder and the first store was opened in Brighton in 1976
and became public in 1985 The company deals in beautifying products, which are made from
organic ingredients. Body Shop sells its product globally, and primary interest is to promote
natural beauty. The first project towards social responsibility was dubbed “Save the Whale”
which started in 1986 before coming up with Body Shop Foundation that was launched in 1990

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(Kent & Stone, 2007). The foundation was meant to offer animal protection, protect the
environment and human rights that are intended to protect the planet, animals, and the entire
planet. The company is highly conscious about social and environmental problems that the
society around the world is exposed to currently.
Body Shop Company offers suppliers a sense of security as well as additional income as
a way of appreciating and encouraging them to continue with responsible supplies that lead to
high-quality products. Body shop protects animals and does not promote cosmetic testing on
animals. As such, the company has researched and developed ways of designing synthetically
grown human skin that can be effectively used in testing cosmetics. Additionally, Body Shop
Company trains and raises awareness among its employees through various feedback from
different other stakeholders.
Body Shop Company understands that it is essential to plan its entire plan with
stakeholders to build and maintain the corporate reputation. Besides, it recognizes the importance
of streamlining communication that relay a concise, clear, and consistent message of its CSR
activities (Dahlsrud, 2008). Body Shop Company communicates its CSR strategies through
different channels. For instance, it uses public relations and advertisement when championing for
its programs such as “Save the Whale,” Animal protection, and human rights. For instance, the
major advertisement campaign for the CSR program “Save the Whale” was introduced in 1986
and it was intended to protect whales from going extinct ("About Us | The Body Shop", n.d.).
The company has continued to campaign on social issues such as the one on sex trafficking. This
has been a very effective means of communicating the company CSR efforts as it gives the
consumers the opportunity to be involved in the campaign.

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The company has equally adopted the use of social media in the United States where its
Twitter and Facebook pages are used to promote its CSR programs. Body Shop appears to be
very communicative on social media, and when confronted with negative comments from
Facebook or Twitter uses, the one managing the accounts always respond with personal touch
comments. Through its diverse communication methods, the company has been able to explain
its CSR activities to the public and effectively counter possible backlash from its programs
(Mohan, 2006). This has since created a large base of loyal consumers who believe in the efforts
of the company. Its employees are equally motivated and are ready to ensure that the company
reputation is protected and its goals achieved.
Role of CSR Issues Management for Body Shop
Before venturing into any CSR program, Body Shop carries out extensive research to find
out what its customers want the brand to the campaign. For instance, before starting the
campaign on “Forever Against Animal Testing,” the company researched, and this is what the
issue customers wanted to be addressed ("About Us | The Body Shop", n.d.). It believes in
campaigning not because it wants to increase sales but because that is the mission of Body Shop.
Most of the beauty shops are known to use animals to test their cosmetics, but Body Shop
believed in not harming animals or anyone to make cosmetic products. The authorities should
come up with stricter regulations to save innocent animals. Body Shop researched and came up
with a sustainable way of testing cosmetics with harming animals or anyone and this issue
management that the company has had.
Body Shop has used various platforms to communicate how it has addressed the problem
of hurting animals and its intention to discourage other businesses from using animals when
testing their products. Based on such steps, the company has been regarded as a highly reputable

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brand that is more concerned in conserving the lives of animal (Argenti & Druckenmiller, 2004).
Besides, it is celebrated for coming solution by designing synthetically grown human skin that
can be used in place of animals.
The consistency of Body Shop communication messages
The central message that Body Shop is passing to its stakeholder is that of environmental
consciousness. Most of the campaigns that the company does are intended to protect the
environment. The social responsibility has remained consistent in its social values across the
country and in selecting its business partners (Harrison & Wicks, 2013). The brand for fighting
for the rights and interest of its stakeholder and it has shown that it can “walk the talk.” The
campaign titled “Forever Against Animal Testing,” which is one of its major projects is intended
was to run for two years through to 2019, and the message is consistent across the world.
It must be noted that the company is communicating its various CSR programs
differently. As such, stakeholders such as employees are addressed through the internal medium
of communication such as a memo. For instance, when training and awareness program is
scheduled on a particular date, the management informs respective staff members through
memos.
Body Shop is equally known for using emails and letters to communicate with its
suppliers regarding its CSR programs. The company communicates with its supplier by
informing them of the need to form an economic partnership with local suppliers to ensure that
they become economically self-sustaining (Doane & Abasta-Vilaplana, 2005). In every country
that the company operates, it forms such a partnership, and this has reduced suppliers dependent
on the big firms.

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The message passed to consumers is that the products are of high quality that matches the
value for money. The company communicates its low, but quality products in all its stores and
customers who walk into any store are capable of enjoying such services or products. The
message to consumers is consistent across Body Shop stores.
Body Shop Company communicates a consistent message for each category of
stakeholders being addressed. Consumers have their consistent high quality and low price
message; suppliers have the consistent message on the economic partnership, environmental
conservation is consistent across the globe, and that happens in all stakeholders. In overall, the
message can be seen as championing for rights and interest of all its shareholders in the entire
world.
Evaluation of Communication in Body Shop and Specific Recommendations
The decision to protect powerless animals has made Body Shop a unique company from
the rest. As a firm dealing in cosmetics, using animals for testing cosmetics is the least expensive
thing, but it chose the long and significantly expensive route of designing human skin ("About
Us | The Body Shop", n.d.). What makes the company brand even more competitive in the entire
industry is its choice of standing out from the crowd and adopting the most effective advertising
and packaging that resonates with nearly all its stakeholders.
The idea of Body Shop was not realistic to most of the people and the few who believed
thought it was green-washing. However, it turned out to be a smart strategy when L’Oreal
acquired it at £652 million ("About Us | The Body Shop", n.d.). However, the success is
attributed to the way the company has communicated its CSR programs and its innovative issues
management moves. As such, the Body Shop brand has been accepted as a socially responsible
firm.

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Body Shop Company has adopted the use of social media, which is one of the effective
ways of reaching out to consumers. The company’s Twitter and Facebook page are relatively
active when compared to competitors such as Sephora and Origins. The social media platform
for an interactive audience where the company can get and at the same time gives feedbacks
regarding its programs (Jamali & Mirshak, 2007). Therefore, it demonstrates that the corporate
communication used by the Body Shop is mostly successful.
Recommendation
The company intends to become the most ethical firm and unique sustainable business in the
entire world. Some of the recommendations for the company include:
 The company needs to reduce the marketing pounds for its campaigns and consider using
several videos in all its stores and social media.
 The company needs to adopt new social media platforms other than Facebook and
Twitter. Other platforms such as Instagram, Pinterest, and Snapchat have become equally
favourite among its consumers and can increase campaign coverage.
 The company needs to embrace new marketing strategies such as in-game advertising
where the company campaigns can always pop up when playing video games.
Conclusion
Nearly every organization across the world is expected to take part in social
responsibility. Consumers only prefer buying from companies that invest their resources in
environmentally sound projects. CSR issues include the concerns that various stakeholders raise
against concerning what the company does. For instance, when the activities of the company are
harmful to the environment, the society is more likely to complain to the authority.
Consequently, organizations are expected to understand some of the CSR issues and come up

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with the most effective issues management to ensure that there is no legitimacy gap left. Body
Shop is an example of organizations that have been successful in protecting the interest and
rights of its entire stakeholder through social responsibility products. It has effectively
communicated its CSR programs through a different medium, and that has enhanced its
competitive advantage.
References
About Us | The Body Shop. Retrieved from https://www.thebodyshop.com/en-gb/about-us?
clear=true