ABSTRACT
Organizations want to have good relationships with the communities they operate in. This could be dealing with people who live next to their factory, or with school or university leavers they may want to recruit. This chapter explains community relations (CommR) and lists the various activities that could be used in a CommR programme. It then compares CommR with cause-related marketing (CRM) and draws on the case for organizations to be involved with CommR and corporate social responsibility (CSR). CommR is about improving the quality of life in the local community, so organisations may become involved in environmental clean-ups, recycling, arts programmes and children's activities. Good CommR programmes help to give employees a reason to be proud of the company, with all the benefits of increased engagement that brings. The case study present in the chapter shows how the Environment Agency changed its way of dealing with communities where it was developing projects, so that opposition was reduced.
