Opinion: Komen Should Take Cue From Sierra Club in Managing Controversy

National environmental group the Sierra Club’s rapid response to reports that it took millions of dollars in donations from natural-gas producers provides a lesson for Susan G. Komen for the Cure in handling a public-relations crisis, a Forbes contributor writes.

In contrast to the Komen foundation—which waited 24 hours after the Planned Parenthood controversy broke to post a response online and another day before its leader spoke out publicly—the Sierra Club “right out in front of its little mess,” says Amy Westervelt, who writes on health-care and environmental issues for Forbes.

Rather than let critics dictate coverage, Ms. Westervelt wrote, Sierra Club executive director Michael Brune quickly took the story to a major media outlet, telling a Time magazine reporter that his predecessor, Carl Pope, who stepped down in November, had been responsible for forging relations with natural-gas executives and that the club had more recently turned down an $30-million from the industry.