CSR Press Release

DALLAS - October 14, 2008 - With increased communications on sustainability topics, dialogue about company practices and the growth of "green" marketing, sustainability has now become a critical part of many companies' corporate communications strategies. Taking note of this movement, imc², a leading digital agency, studied the companies that comprise the S&P 100 to understand how effectively they are communicating about their sustainability efforts.

Although the analysis revealed some companies and industries are more successful in their sustainability communications efforts, there are opportunities to improve communications across the board. Findings identified three distinct performance groups in terms of how industries are currently communicating about sustainability:

• Leading Players: The automotive, forestry, chemicals and pharmaceuticals industries are currently setting the standard for sustainability communication.

• Emerging Players: The mining/energy, transportation/shipping, technology, communications and consumer product/retail industries are making progress, yet still have significant opportunity to improve.

• Lagging Players: The financial services and media/entertainment are lagging players. Their sustainability communications have the most opportunity for growth.

The study's overall takeaway showed that while some industries are further ahead, there is much room for improvement in terms of how all companies communicate about their efforts.

The analysis shows that how a company communicates about its sustainability practices is integral to developing deeper relationships with its stakeholders. Beth Bengtson, imc²'s vice president of corporate social responsibility, said "Although a non-financial report is a critical first step in terms of understanding a company's overall impact, there is considerably more to communicating about sustainability. As long as sustainability is a topic separate from a company's core messaging, it will not have the full impact it could. Companies must get the information out of the report and into the main communication streams if they are going to be perceived as authentic."

The study suggests that a starting place for companies to improve communications is through their existing Web sites. By employing interactive tools such as RSS feeds, videos and e-newsletters to report progress updates, starting a company blog and/or building an online community to initiate stakeholder dialogue, a company can begin to engage with their stakeholders in a more meaningful way.

The publication of this white paper follows imc²'s launch of Clear Sky Digital Media in the second quarter, a free online tool that allows marketers to calculate and then offset the carbon footprint of their online media campaigns (www.imc2.com/carbon) and its first GRI sustainability report (www.imc2.com/csr).

The complete white paper can be downloaded at www.imc2.com/sp100

About imc²

imc² is dedicated to transforming the practice of marketing by advancing relationships between brands and people. The agency has offices in New York City, Dallas, Philadelphia, and Cincinnati. With more than 400 talented staff members, imc² provides digital services in the following areas: strategy and insight, media and promotions, Web and application development, relationship marketing, and measurement and intelligence. imc² serves a broad and diversified client base, including Procter & Gamble, Pizza Hut, The Coca-Cola Company, Nestle Foods, Johnson & Johnson, Shire and Pfizer. Please visit www.imc2.com for more information.

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