Professional Standards of the Swedish Public Relations Association

1. Professional communicator
A professional communicator carries out professional information and communication tasks, either as an employee at a company or other organisation, or as a consultant for a client.

A professional communicator manages and develops the reputational capital and credibility of organisations. Through provision of relevant information, a professional communicator aims to ensure that target groups and stakeholders receive a correct perception of the operations that the professional communicator represents.

A professional communicator has the knowledge required to analyse and assess relations, attitudes and opinions, and to predict the reactions of the surrounding w orld.

A professional communicator ensures that the surrounding world has relevant information on and understanding of the organisation and its operations, and that the organisation has relevant information on and understanding of the surrounding world.

2. Aim
A professional communicator works to realise the employer’s or client’s goals. To achieve this, a professional communicator utilises professional methods in accordance with these standards.

3. Honesty and trustworthiness
A professional communicator works to ensure that correct information based on relevant facts, assessments and arguments within the represented operations is formulated and disseminated.

A professional communicator works on information and communications within the framework of applicable legislation and other regulations.

4. Confidentiality
Information that has been provided within the framework of the work and that is not, and is not intended to be, public must not be given to other parties.

5. Openness
A professional communicator endeavours to make as much information as possible available and understandable.

6. The open society
The open society is a prerequisite for the work of professional communicators. The open society is characterised by freedom of expression and the rights of all people, within legal frameworks, to search for and use information. The professional work of professional communicators increases openness in society.

7. Through its membership in the Global Alliance, the Swedish Public Relations Association has adopted the Global Ethics Protocol on Public Relations.

8. Members who do not comply with these professional standards may be warned or excluded from the association. The procedures for processing such matters are regulated in the section 17 of the association’s statutes.