Why is it, then, that some of us are uncomfortable with the prospect of Xerox, Coca-Cola, Dow, 3M, and Turner Broadcasting--or even Body Shop or Ben and Jerry--becoming the "environmental conscience" of the world? The dilemma facing environmentalists, environmental NGOs, and green advocates is painfully obvious. On the one hand they feel cheated as their "cause" is "highjacked" by big business. On the other, this is exactly what they have strived for and demanded for years: Business with a green face.
Maybe the reason why I am still uncomfortable with the green face of business is because I am not sure if this is merely a facelift; or even worse, a mask. Is the conversion one of convenience or is it really a change of faith? Is the new coloring merely skin deep, or has a green heart, and better still, a green soul come to reside within the corporate body? Is this really a merger of environmental and corporate interests or is this a hostile takeover?
Given the "yuppization" of the environment, the corporate world's interest in being seen as greener than its competition is not surprising. Today's is a market where environmental yuppies would rather use twice the amount of recycled paper at twice the unit price, than reduce their waste of paper in the first place; where designer luggage with embroidered cuddly animals sells at five times its normal rate; where millions can be raised in the name of exotic whales and pandas but millions of starving African children are mere statistics to prove that the poor must do their share for the environment (and presumably the whales) by limiting their misguided procreative urges! In such a market, turning green and creating an "environmental niche," may not be the most environmentally kosher thing to do; however not doing so is certainly not good business.
And that is really at the root of my discomfort. What is being trumpeted and marketed as "green business" is in fact no more than "good business". Is it not, then, unfair to try to get "green points" for something that you have already earned "dollar points" for? The "success" stories that Stephen Schmidheiny and his friends at the Business Council for Sustainable Development recount in Changing Course; the "sustainable" strategies being touted by Xerox, 3M, and others; and the greening of traditional polluters such as Dow Chemicals, Exxon Oil and their ilk, all seem to be motivated by the gods of cost efficiency and maximized profit much more than environmental concerns (except in the way of being concerned about an increasingly green consumer-base).
As an environmentalist I find nothing wrong with any of this, except on the grounds that the celebration of the greening of the corporation may be premature-and false advertising at that. However, what concerns me much more is the "ungreening" that is destined to come as soon as the easy efficiency gains are exhausted. What we have right now is a recession ridden economy with a lot of businesses crippled by waste and inefficiency. In such a climate increasing efficiency and cutting on energy and other forms of waste is only to be expected. To be truly green, however, corporations would require much more deeprooted shifts in paradigms and philosophies. There is no sign, even amongst the most (so-called) progressive corporations, that such a shift is forthcoming. What will happen when the honeymoon ends?
The even more fundamental underlying issue here is the issue of intentions. Should actions only be judged by intentions? Should actions that are good for the environment but motivated by other concerns be celebrated as environmental victories? Is a large corporation that reduces its energy consumption drastically by adopting conservation measures where it was grossly wasteful to begin with, a "greener" entity than a small grassroots outfit that has always been environmental conscious and conserving? And finally, who is the arbiter of which are the good environmental intentions are which are not?
I do not profess to possess answers to any of the questions that I have raised. I do not know anyone who does. In all probability, no one does, or will. However, none of the above is reason enough not to raise these uncomfortable questions. In a Hiedeggarian sense, to question is the piety of thought. In an environmental context, the questions that we fail to ask today will haunt our children tomorrow.
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