Response to Criticism of Cooperation Between Business and Mainstream Environmentalism

Some radical environmentalists are harshly critical of the increasing levels of cooperation between environmental organizations and major corporations. These extremists believe that the only way we can address the climate change crisis is through a revolution which overthrows the entire capitalist system.

This revolutionary rhetoric was reiterated in an article published on Saturday, April 23, 2011, by Cory Morningstar in the Huttington News. In an article titled "1Sky Unveils the New 350.org: More $ -- More Delusion," Morningstar claims that corporate support for the major environmental organizations is part of a global conspiracy by the "elites" to hijack grassroots environmentalism.

Morningstar's attack on environmental NGOs includes well respected organizations like Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and 350.org. Morningstar points to the April 6, 2011, announcement of a merger that 1Sky and 350.org have officially merged.

The Green Market did not escape Morningstar's conspiratorial musings. He rails against 350.org and its The US Chamber of Commerce Doesn't Speak For Me, campaign stating "350.org revealed its first order of business – that of business. In 2011, The Green Market website published an article titled 350.org and Business. The website promotes the 350 campaign to ask businesses to leave the US Chamber of Commerce in response to climate change; however, it neglected to critically analyze why such a campaign can only fail."

The truth is the campaign has actually been a great success with some of the most widely recognized brands joining over one thousand businesses of all sizes in saying no to the US Chamber of Commerce and its anti-environmental agenda.

Morningstar has a different interpretation, in his view this "incrementalism dooms humanity to failure." Although there is an urgent need to respond rapidly, an accelerated form of incrementalism may be the most efficient method of implementing the most effective broad spectrum changes.

Morningstar continues, "No matter how many businesses leave the Chamber, they will still be doing what they do...destroying the environment for the sake of profit...it will provide nothing of consequence to the solution set. It's nothing less than delusion, if not a crime against humanity, that those who understand the science actually believe such campaigns are helpful beyond our psyches."

Despite Morningstar's contention, the 350.org campaign is helping to build momentum which encourages ever larger numbers of businesses to adopt serious sustainability initiatives. Although Morningstar may believe that the climate scientists are delusional, there is a certain logic to accepting the conclusions derived from experimentation over ideologically driven rants.

350.org supports regulation, an end to fossil fuel subsidies and greater taxation for the wealthy, but Morningstar manages to convince himself that the real agenda is "keeping the wealth and power in the hands of a few." He goes on to say, "As long as the elites control the non-profit industrial complex we will never defeat the climate crisis."

Morningstar even dismisses proposed US climate change legislation as "completely inadequate and focused on false solutions and commodification of Earth’s final remaining natural resources." Although legislation is unlikely before 2012, assigning a value to the earth's resources and attaching a price to pollutants like carbon is an efficient means of slowing anthropogenic climate change in the near term.

At its core, Morningstar's tirade calls for a revolution against what he refers to as the 'ruling elite' which apparently now includes mainstream environmentalism. As he explains in the article, "institutions such as 1Sky, are manufactured and funded to serve the system and create a false pretext of dissent. And as long as such organizations refuse to focus on and examine the fundamental relationship between green capitalist logic and ecological disaster, they simply serve as nails in the coffin of humanity and nothing more than brilliantly executed distractions that allow us to embrace the comfort of denial...1Sky and all of the other interconnected heavily funded organizations are little more than convenient messengers for the ruling classes who continue to excel in ensuring ‘all the ducks are in a row’. Nothing is left to chance."

Although some would have us believe otherwise, the very system which created the ecological nightmare we are facing, is also our best hope for the future. The rapid growth of the green economy offer the only viable solution, the revolution that Morningstar advocates is a nightmare within a nightmare.

Morningstar portrays 350.org's founder Bill McKibben as having created "the world’s most heavily funded token movement tightly controlled by world’s most powerful ruling classes."

According to Morningstar, "If we truly want to save some resemblance of a livable planet for our children, we must confront and reject the non-profit industrial complex, who in reality, cannot and will not bite the hand which feeds them – the hand upon which they depend, in order to continue to exist."

It is important to follow the actions of corporate and organizational interests closely as there are undeniably many who are working to subvert the process of greater transparency, responsibility and accountability. However, the growing relationship between business and the 'non-profit industrial complex' as Morningstar calls them, drives the green economy and benefits the environment. It is nothing short of absurd to dismiss the business community's pivotal role in carbon reduction.

Morningstar's Marxist-Lenninist rants reduce the war against climate change to class conflict, but his revolutionary zeal is unproductive and does nothing to solve the dire crisis we are facing. We have seen this tired rhetoric before, and as we look back on the arc of history we see that anti-capitalist regimes are the polar opposite of a panacea.

If we are to make the kind of environmental changes we need to see in the time frames we have, we will have to use the mechanisms in place. Environmental organizations have a crucial role to play getting carbon below a safe threshold and the most expedient way of inducing this change is through the mechanism of capitalism.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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Cooperation Between Environmental Organizations and Businesses

Increasingly we are seeing cooperation between environmental organizations and businesses. All around the world, grassroots environmental organizations are teaming up with corporations in the service of the environment.

Environmental organizations have commonly pressured corporations to change. Greenpeace's widely publicized campaigns against unsustainable companies are some of the best known examples.

Other environmental campaigns are less adversarial and more inclusive. There are many strong partnerships were the business community is working alongside environmmental groups. For example, Xerox has partnered with The Nature Conservancy to promote sustainable forestry, preserve biodiversity and help minimize forest loss and degradation that contributes to greenhouse gas emissions.

Strong partnerships are forming where non-profits are putting their expertise to work guiding businesses. Some of the most productive partnerships involve information sharing between environmental groups and companies. Greenpeace has partnered with companies like Cisco and Google, Carbon Trust has put out a Green Guide for SMEs and the WWF-UK has launched its Green Game-Changers initiative for Business. The WWF is involved in training business executives for sustainability through its Sustainability Training Program. The WWF has partnered with the IMD to create a Sustainable Business Program. The WWF also provides training to business leaders through its One Planet Leaders Program The Environmental Defense Fund has the comprehensive Innovation Exchange and Ceres has been integrating sustainability into capital markets for more than 20 years.

Other campaigns work with companies to foster change from within the business community. For example, 350.org's "The US Chamber of Commerce Doesn't Speak For Me," campaign.

Various professional and development organizations support sustainable businesses. The B Corporation, certifies businesses as change agents, The ISSP, International Society of Sustainability Professionals, promotes professional development, as well as providing networking and sharing of best practices.

Although the EPA is a government organization, the public - Private cooperation that fuels its Green Power Partnership program has yielded impressive results.

Cooperation between businesses and environmental organizations is helping to produce a greener world. These partnerships illustrate that capitalism and environmentalism can converge in ways that benefit the planet.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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350.org and Business

Bill McKibben and 350.org have some ambitious plans to get the business community involved with efforts to reduce CO2 emissions. The business community is responsible for a large amount of the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere, if we are to achieve necessary reductions business people have a critical role to play in shaping a more sustainable economy.

Many business people know that regulatory standards send clear market signals to investors and entrepreneurs about new opportunities. The current climate of uncertainty does not serve the business community. Numerous product innovations, clean energy investments and new service offerings will flow from a consistent EPA effort to regulate greenhouse emissions. As many states across America have demonstrated, policies that address greenhouse-gas emissions do not impair economic growth. To the contrary, they enhance it by attracting venture and institutional investors and new high technology and manufacturing companies.

In a conference call with Bill McKibben and the 350 team, The Green Market's Richard Matthews asked what 350.org is doing to help support the business community to combat climate change. Bill McKibben answered the question by saying, "it is really important to get businesses and business people involved that is why we are getting chambers of commerce involved." He went on to say, "capitalism is supposed to be innovative flexible and creative,[and] most business people are prepared to consider energy powered by the sun and the wind."

McKibben wants to get businesses to sign up to support efforts to combat climate change through a campaign that targets the US Chamber of Commerce. Rather than represent small businesses, the Chamber is actually a giant lobbying machine, spending more money to influence the political process than anyone else in Washington.

As indicated on the 350.org site, "The Chamber is controlled by big polluters, poisons politics with its dirty money and opposes every single effort to curb climate pollution."

As well known author and New York Times journalist Thomas Friedman said, "All shareholders should be asking CEOs why they still belong to the Chamber."

The Chamber has opposed every piece of legislation designed to slow the onset of global warming—in recent months it has tried to block the EPA from enforcing the Clean Air Act, arguing that global warming would be “on balance beneficial to humans” because fewer people would freeze to death and that in any event “populations can acclimatize to warmer climates via a range of range of behavioral, physiological, and technological adaptations.”

The US chamber of commerce spent 132 million dollars on lobbying in 2010. The Chamber gets more than half of its funding form 16 anonymous corporate donors. Of the companies that donated to the Chamber, $1 million came from the Fox Broadcasting Network. Fox host Glenn Beck urged his viewers to donate to the Chamber—and a US Chamber official called in to his program to thank him for his support.

Of the 32 million dollars the US Chamber of Commerce spent on the 2010 midterm election, 90 percent went to Republican candidates who are climate deniers.

Historically the Chamber has been on the wrong side of some major issues. They supported Joseph McCarthy in perpetuating the red scare, they also fought against American involvement in World War ll, civil rights, disabled rights and now clean air.

Local business chambers are increasingly at odds with the US Chamber. Local chambers of commerce have cut their ties in cities like Seattle, New York, and San Francisco as well as states like Florida, South Carolina, Missouri, Kansas, Colorado, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire and Washington.

More than a thousand businesses have also abandoned the Chamber, they include a wide range of companies from small businesses to international corporations like Apple, Nike, Microsoft, Levi-Strauss, Best Buy, and General Electric. For a map of businesses who are saying that the US Chamber of Commerce does not speak for them click here.

When Nike relinquished its position on the Chamber's board of directors it said, "We fundamentally disagree with the US Chamber of Commerce on climate change." When Apple resigned their position on the Chamber's board of directors they released the following statement, "Apple supports regulating greenhouse gases, it is frustrating to find that the Chamber at odds with us in that effort." Click here for a complete list of statements from those who disagree with the US Chamber of Commerce.

For more information read Bill McKibben’s Huffington Post piece on the US Chamber “The Gang That Couldn’t Lobby Straight”

Its time to develop a national movement and strong political voice for sustainability-minded companies. Responsible and sustainability minded companies can play a major role in making the argument that emasculated regulatory agencies, corporate oil and gas subsidies and tax cuts for millionaires will neither generate jobs nor foster a competitive economy. Join 350.org in standing with small business owners, local chambers of commerce and people all over the country. Sign up to the 350 campaign to say, "The US Chamber of Commerce Doesn't Speak For Me."

Become part of the American Sustainable Business Council to help build a more vibrant, just and sustainable American economy or join the many other organizations that are working at the national, state and local level.

To find out more about what businesses can do click here. You can also start or join a local team and recruit local businesses to declare, “The US Chamber Doesn’t Speak For Me.”

See the facebook page for The US Chamber of Commerce Doesn't Speak For Me and post the following Tweet on Twitter The US Chamber Doesn't Speak For Me http://t.co/i7jbw0v.

© 2011, Richard Matthews. All rights reserved.

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