Philip Morris Offers Advice on Corporate Responsibility

"Even the executive from Philip Morris Companies Inc., the parent company of the largest cigarette maker in the United States, couldn't ignore the irony that he had been scheduled to speak about corporate responsibility," writes Marc Levy in an Associated Press report on a speech delivered on Monday by PM vice president David Greenberg. Levy notes that Greenberg's speech is part of an ongoing effort by Philip Morris to remold its image: "For three years, the company has rolled out its executives to speaking engagements, part of an effort to improve the company's image and offer itself up as an example of a corporate citizen that found ethics and responsibility." Greenberg's speech, delivered at a luncheon of the Pennsylvania Press Club, offered familiar platitudes. "The corporate community really needs to step up to whatever it takes to restore the public trust," he told reporters. "Business ethics must come from the top."