TREMBLANT FORUM® SPEAKERS DISCUSS SOCIAL RESPONSIBILTY IN THE AGE OF "WEB
2.0"

Proactively responding to social media and sustainability will secure competitive advantage, says Martin Smith from Justmeans

MONTREAL, Nov. 17 /CNW Telbec/ - More than 125 Canadian and international leaders from private and public corporations, municipalities, non-profit organizations and academic institutions convened today at Mont-Tremblant for the seventh annual Tremblant Forum® on corporate responsibility and sustainability, an initiative of NATIONAL Public Relations. With the theme of Social Responsibility 2.0, this year's Forum explores the impact of social media on corporate social responsibility and sustainability.

During the first morning presentation, Bruno Guglielminetti, Manager, Digital Communications at NATIONAL Public Relations, discussed how in recent years, the Internet, blogs and social media have shaken up - even revolutionized - how information is managed. "The Internet has changed the way we get information and social media has given citizens a voice. All that's left now is for companies to figure out how they can adequately join the dialogue," he said.

Keynote presentation: Martin Smith from Justmeans
The actual kick-off to the conference was given by Martin Smith, President and General Director of Justmeans, the leading platform in the United States for using social media to achieve social responsibility. Before a packed house, he delivered a speech on the use of social media for sustainability. "The ability to shape corporate brand and identity used to be a power held by few.  We are all now co-creators of identity through social media as empowered stakeholders," explained Martin Smith. "The companies that proactively respond to the growing trends of social media and sustainability will secure long term competitive advantage," he added.

Speakers and participants engage in fruitful dialogue
Hosted by well-known politicians, academics and journalists, the 2010 Tremblant Forum® workshops are aimed at generating constructive dialogue on social media's role in communicating corporate social responsibility as well as the challenges and opportunities they represent.

During the first workshop, Corporate responsibility and sustainability in a socially connected world, speakers discussed the impact of the growing use of social media on corporate social responsibility and sustainability practices. They questioned whether social media forces companies to be more accountable, transparent and responsible, and discussed the challenges associated with these new platforms.

"The difference between risks and opportunities is often a question of perspective. With social media, companies and their stakeholders are on the same level and stakeholders have the power to define their own requirements. This shift from push to pull represents an opportunity. Getting stakeholders' feedback allows an organization to prioritize improvement and get ideas about how to do it," stated Celesa Horvath, Principal Consultant and Owner, Ventus. "Social media is an extension of human relationships. With social media, brands are being exposed and becoming self aware. When telling our stories about CSR and sustainability, we need to ensure that these can easily be shared with others. This demands that we speak honestly and authentically," added Chris Jarvis, President of Realized Worth.

Two additional workshops will take place in the afternoon. The first, Combining communications, social media and social responsibility, will explore social media as a vehicle for communicating with the different groups associated with an organization. It will afford speakers the opportunity to share best practices and discuss pitfalls to avoid.

The second workshop, Social media as a mobilizing tool for the community, will discuss the repercussions of calls to action to citizens through social media. Speakers will focus on the types of actions generally called for through social media.

The 2010 Tremblant Forum^® unites speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds:

• Martin Smith, President and General Director, Justmeans
• Denis Coderre, Member of Parliament, Bourassa riding
• Ferg Devins, Chief Public Affairs Officer, Molson Coors Canada
• Celesa Horvath, Principal Consultant and Owner, Ventus
• Chris Jarvis, President, Realized Worth
• Rick Petersen, Executive Vice-President, Corporate Citizenship, Gildan
• Melissa Shin, Editor, Corporate Knights Magazine
• Bernard Motulsky, Holder, Chair of public relations and communications marketing, UQAM
• Cristelle Basmaji, Director, Marketing & Communications, Jacob
• Bryan A. Coates, Vice-President, Finance and Chief Financial Officer, Osisko Mining Corporation
• Jean-François Deschênes, Chief Web Officer, Bombardier
• François Morin, Senior Director, Community Business Market, Bell Canada
• Marie-Claude Rivet, Assistant Director, Media Relations, Loto-Québec
• Brenda Plant, President and General Director, Ethipedia
• Éric Darier, Director, Greenpeace Quebec
• Chantal Gagnon, Director, Sustainable Development, City of Montreal
• Pierre Lussier, General Manager, Earth Day
• Lorraine Simard, President, CBleue

The Tremblant Forum^® (www.tremblantforum.org) is made possible by the support of many partners including Bell, Cascades, Dessau, Gildan, Loto-Québec, Molson Coors, National Bank and Tremblant, along with media partners La Presse, The Gazette, L'actualité and Vision Durable. For the second time, the Tremblant Forum^® is hosting the Korn/Ferry - L'actualité - NATIONAL Prize of Excellence in Corporate Citizenship.

About NATIONAL
NATIONAL, Canada's largest public relations firm, was named one of the top 10 public relations firms worldwide for corporate responsibility. NATIONAL was also named Canada's public relations firm of the year by The Holmes Report, a highly reputed publication in the public relations sector. NATIONAL has offices in Victoria, Vancouver, Calgary, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Quebec City, New York and London and owns an interest in MT&L/NATIONAL in Halifax and Saint John.

The Firm provides a complete range of communications services to large corporations, organizations and governments. Its areas of expertise include corporate communications, investor relations, public affairs, public consultation and participation, employee engagement and communications in support of marketing, technology and healthcare as well as digital communications services. Internationally, it is affiliated with Burson-Marsteller.

NATIONAL is a subsidiary of RES PUBLICA Consulting Group of Montreal, which also owns another Canadian public relations leader, Cohn & Wolfe | Canada, with offices in Toronto, Montreal and Calgary and has an affiliation with the Cohn & Wolfe global network.

For further information:

Roch Landriault
NATIONAL Public Relations Inc.
514-843-2345