Regarding big corporations and going green:
Imagine turning a supertanker under full steam. You can throw the rudder over hard and it will take many miles before the ship is actually turned. Inertia is the enemy of change.
The top managers of big "supertanker" companies like BP can actually really believe in sustainability and try to promote it. And look, they just got it. Recently. I believe them. I also notice they have usually been employed there for just a few years.
And they turn the supertanker wheel and it will take years - years! - before their faddish new direction about sustainability sink down into the middle mgmt level, and that will happen only if top mgmt institutes incentives for the right people - middle managers in all relevant departments - that are measurable and related to job performance evaluation and promotion criteria. And this is easy?
When someone says, Look the Big Corporation says they are green and yet they blow up their own refineries in Texas (ahem..) well I think the best answer is, look they just turned the wheel on the supertanker, it's going to take a while for any effects to be felt.
The distance between the CEO of BP and the Texas BP refinery staff who blew up their plant is really vast. It apprently takes a corporation about one hundred years to get a safety culture really installed, as DuPont says all the time. And look, they don't blow themselves up - ever. Finally.
It is in fact really hard to be a good corporate board member or green advisor or biz school sustainability consultant and get the focus on the long game. But these supertankers, they are really long.
Who is looking at the long game for management of the biggest companies? What is the academic perspective these days? I would love to know how anyone thinks these leviathans of commerce could be diverted - at all.
Burton Hamner
Cleaner Production International LLC
5534 30th Ave NE, Seattle, WA 98105
Fax (215) 565-4558
From: Organizations and the Natural Environment Discussion [mailto:ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu] On Behalf Of Dayna Simpson
Sent: Monday, December 03, 2007 3:47 PM
To: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Subject: Re: Sustainability Institutes and Research Centers - Greenwashing
Joe, this is an interesting question - what are the ethics of 'association' between Corporations and environmental groups or advisory boards?
I'd just like to mention that Australia finally signed on to Kyoto today after a recent change of government.
Dayna
Dayna Simpson
College of Business
Oregon State University
Corvallis, OR
E:
daynasimpson@hotmail.com
Date: Mon, 3 Dec 2007 06:59:27 -0500
From: jsarkis@clarku.edu
Subject: Sustainability Institutes and Research Centers - Greenwashing
To: ONE-L@AOMLISTS.pace.edu
Hello All,
The Chronicle of Higher Education today has an article on the Sustainability Institute at the University of Michigan. The controversy is over BHP Billiton, and their membership on the advisory board. The sustainability (environmental and social aspects specifically, they are probably doing great on the economic aspects) record of BHP Billiton is not good, and according to one source keeps getting worse, while their words get better. Is this membership viewed as a 'greenwashing' effort? Or does an organization that serves on the advisory board of a sustainability institute contribute to true guidance?
I alluded to this issue before. Are those companies who are donating large amounts of time and money and involvement with academic sustainability/environmental programs really doing this to aid the environment and sustainability, or to primarily make themselves look better? (or both?)
The article is at: http://chronicle.com/weekly/v54/i15/15a02201.htm Unfortunately, I think you may need an account to access it.
If you are not a subscriber maybe this link may work: http://chronicle.com/temp/email2.php?id=5b3BzkpddMsmhJbsVYp9QzPVdjjt3MbX
-Joe S.
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