The Greenwash Tango; 1 - Loudly Proclaim Eco-Friendly Goals 2 - Implement 3 - Quietly Dump Goals
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The research tracked five major Australian firms in different sectors over 10 years, examining company reports, media releases and policy statements and conducting more than 70 interviews with senior managers. Between 2005 and 2015, the unnamed companies ― in energy, manufacturing, finance, insurance and media, with workforces ranging from 1,500 to 36,000 employees ― adopted progressive climate policies with much fanfare, only to quietly scale back the efforts in the years that followed.
The findings highlight the limitations of relying on market forces to combat climate change and dangers of allowing corporations beholden to the financial interests of shareholders to shape policy. It suggests the systemic changes scientists say are necessary to avoid the worst effects of warming temperatures will require massive government spending and regulation. “There’s so much hype about corporate good deeds, corporations will save us,” Christopher Wright, a co-author of the study and professor at the University of Sydney Business School, told HuffPost by phone on Sunday. “It’s so at odds with the reality that it’s pretty frightening.”
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Stark contradictions abound with even the most vocally eco-conscious corporate giants. Walmart touts itself as an environmental leader and said in February it’s “staying on track to fight climate change.” Yet the retail behemoth refuses to add an environmentalist to its board of directors, insisting the founding Walton family’s billionaire patriarch’s philanthropy qualifies him as an expert. Apple ― which hired Lisa Jackson as its sustainability chief after she served as Environmental Protection Agency administrator during President Barack Obama’s first term ― issued a $1 billion green bond in June, vowing to become one of the greenest corporations. But the iPhone maker contributes to an ever-growing electronic waste problem by fighting to ban its customers from repairing their devices. Financial titans JPMorgan Chase and BlackRock participated in talks calling for more aggressive climate change action this month, but continue to fund oil drilling in the Amazon rainforest.
“The corporate message seems to be to rebang the drum on markets and technology and certainly make no mention of coercive regulations or laws limiting what they do,” he said. “If anything, it’s about giving them space to self-regulate, which again fits with that neoliberal creed.”
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https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/corporate-sustainability-climate-change_us_5a1c7002e4b0e9bc3368d93e
