Member Code of Ethics 2000

The new Public Relations Member Code of Ethics for our Society was approved by the PRSA Assembly in October 2000 after two years of concentrated effort led by the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards.

The PRSA Board of Directors noted that it is dramatically different from that relied upon in the past, in three powerfully important ways:

• Emphasis on enforcement of the Code was eliminated. But, the Board retains the right to bar from membership or expel from the Society any individual who has been or is sanctioned by a government agency or convicted in a court of law of an action that is in violation of the Code.

• The new focus is on universal values that inspire ethical behavior and performance.

• Desired behavior is illustrated by providing language, experience, and examples to help individual practitioners better achieve ethical and principled business objectives. This approach should help everyone better understand the expected standards of conduct. The mission of the Board of Ethics and Professional Standards was altered to focus primarily on education and training, on collaboration with similar efforts in other major professional societies, and to serve an advisory role to the Board on ethical matters.

Please download and review this PDF file of the PRSA Code of Ethics.