The need to restore trust in the minds and hearts of the public, employees and other stakeholders is one of the great challenges faced today by American corporations. To help meet that challenge, the Public Relations Coalition, a partnership of 19 major U.S.-based organizations representing corporate public relations, investor relations, public affairs and related communications disciplines, has drawn on the collective wisdom of its more than 50,000 members to develop practical action models for restoring trust in business.

They have challenged Corporate America to do three things: adopt ethical principles, pursue transparency and disclosure in everything they do, and make trust a fundamental precept of corporate governance. These core concepts flow from the belief that all businesses must enjoy public approval in order to succeed, with trust as the basis for that approval.