Strategic Public Relations for ESG and the SDGs: Trends, Tensions, and Transformations

Abstract

The rising prominence of Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) frameworks has redefined the role of public relations (PR) in advancing sustainable development. This systematic review investigates how strategic PR adapts to the ESG paradigm and contributes to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), particularly through communication practices that shape public trust, ethical branding, and stakeholder engagement. Based on a comprehensive screening of 159 peer-reviewed articles published between 2015 and 2025, the study analyses the theoretical orientations, sectoral applications, and emergent themes within ESG communication. Six key themes were identified: ESG branding, crisis communication, policy advocacy, reporting, ethics, and stakeholder engagement. These themes highlight the evolution of PR from reactive image management to proactive ethical stewardship. While PR scholars increasingly explore ESG from multidisciplinary lenses, the analysis reveals a dominance of Western-centric theories and a lack of contextual models integrating behavioural insights, religious ethics, and culturally grounded practices especially in Global South settings. The review proposes a contextualised ESG-PR model that centres on ethical co-creation, localised legitimacy, and communicative accountability, offering a pragmatic framework for organisations operating in complex socio-political environments. In addition, the paper identifies theoretical and geographic gaps, calling for more inclusive scholarship that integrates Islamic communication ethics, decolonial narratives, and behavioural sciences. The findings offer implications for PR practitioners, ESG regulators, and educators, encouraging the adoption of communication strategies that are evidence-based, culturally sensitive, and aligned with long-term sustainability goals. This study contributes to the evolving discourse on strategic PR by positioning it as a transformative force in shaping organizational responsibility and public value in the ESG era.