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> Corporate Ties Bedevil Green Groups

>

> When environmentalists work with big business,

> sometimes big money changes hands

>

> By Marc Gunther

>

> (Fortune, Nov. 14) -- Some environmentalists attack bottled water.  

> Not Conservation International (CI), a Virginia-based non-profit  

> that aims to protect the earth's biodiversity. When Fiji Water  

> announced a sustainability initiative last spring to help protect  

> forests on the remote Pacific Island of Fiji, CI's Peter Seligmann  

> praised the move.

>

> 	"We applaud Fiji Water for offsetting the climate impact of its  

> products, reducing the impact of its operations, and funding crucial  

> conservation efforts that support local communities and protect some  

> of the last remaining forests in the South Pacific," he said in a  

> Fiji Water press release.

>

> 	The endorsement didn't surprise anyone who understands the  

> relationship between Fiji Water and CI. The privately-owned bottled  

> water company pays Conservation International -- neither party would  

> say how much -- to finance the work they do together. And Stewart  

> Resnick, who owns Fiji Water with his wife, Lynda, sits on CI's  

> board, and donates to the group.

>

> 	Such cozy arrangements are increasingly common as big companies  

> work side-by-side with big non-governmental organizations (NGOs).

>

> 	Clorox secured the endorsement of the Sierra Club -- and the use of  

> its logo -- for a line of eco-friendly cleaning products called  

> GreenWorks that the company introduced late last year. Neither will  

> disclose how much cash is involved.

>

> 	When Coca-Cola last month set new targets for greenhouse gas  

> reductions, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) offered its praise --  

> again not unexpectedly, since the beverage giant consulted with WWF  

> on its climate change plan and agreed to donate nearly $24 million  

> to the environmental group to help preserve river basins.

>

> 	All this is a dramatic turnabout from the time, not all that long  

> ago, when big business and the environmental movement were  

> frequently at loggerheads. Now they often share common goals, and  

> both sides say it makes sense for companies to pay groups like CI  

> and WWF for their expert help.

>

> 	"Judge us on what we and the companies together are able to do for  

> the environment," says Glenn Prickett, a senior vice president at  

> Conservational International.

>

> 	By that standard, they're doing good -- CI has worked with Wal-Mart  

> on an array of projects, including the retail giant's efforts to  

> promote more responsible mining of gold and silver, and has secured  

> commitments from the likes of Starbucks, Dell, and Marriott to  

> preserve tropical forests.

>

> 	Recently, for example, Starbucks made a $7.5 million multi-year  

> commitment to CI, which works with the company's coffee buyers and  

> farmers to develop standards that reward growers who adopt  

> environmentally-friendly methods. Starbucks benefits because more  

> sustainable growing practices help insure a long-term supply of  

> coffee.

>

> 	"This renewed partnership will help us create the mechanisms to  

> support farmers who are preserving forests and working with us to be  

> part of the climate solution," says Ben Packard, director of  

> environmental affairs for Starbucks.

>

> 	Critics, though, see something unseemly about these deals. Non- 

> profit groups taking cash from big companies are unlikely to push  

> such big donors very hard, they say.

>

> 	"Partnerships between environmental organizations and corporations  

> like Fiji Water often provide positive PR," said Patti Lynn,  

> campaign director for Corporate Accountability International, an  

> activist group that opposes bottled water, " and that can distract  

> from the genuine concerns that people are raising about the  

> practices of the bottled water industry."

>

> 	Activist groups such as Greenpeace and Rainforest Action Network  

> generally don't take corporate money. Neither do more mainstream  

> organizations such as the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC)  

> and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), which often work with big  

> companies.

>

> 	"We at NRDC can't run the risk of letting money cloud our  

> judgment," says spokeswoman Julia Bovey. Gwen Ruta, who oversees  

> corporate partnerships for EDF, said her group won't take consulting  

> fees from corporate partners because it wants to share any findings  

> from their work.

>

> 	"The idea is not just to change a single company's products or  

> services, but to create a new standard that transforms an industry,"  

> she says. On its website, EDF posts a corporate donation policy that  

> says, among other things: "Ours is advice and advocacy that money  

> can't buy."

>

> 	Jeff Hollender, CEO of a company called Seventh Generation, raised  

> questions about the Clorox-Sierra Club partnership at a conference  

> sponsored by Business for Social Responsibility, a non-profit  

> association.

>

> 	Hollender's Vermont-based firm pioneered the field of non-toxic  

> cleaning products (and competes with Clorox). He's also on the board  

> of Greenpeace, which works closely with companies like Coca-Cola and  

> Unilever around cleaner refrigerants, but won't take their donations.

>

> 	"If you look at how much of some NGOs budgets come from business, I  

> think it's too much," Hollender says. "No one [at the Sierra Club]  

> will say how much money the Sierra Club is getting from Clorox. If  

> you are going to do it, you have to have complete transparency."

>

> 	A Sierra Club spokesman, David Willett, confirmed that the  

> organization has not yet disclosed financial details of the deal  

> with Clorox, but said it might do so in the future.

>

> 	The Sierra Club got a lot of pushback with the arrangement was  

> announced, and explains itself on its website: "The Green Works line  

> will make it easier and more affordable for Americans to buy eco- 

> friendly products," stated Carl Pope, the Sierra Club's executive  

> director.

>

> 	CI and WWF don't disclose the amount of specific donations, unless  

> the companies give permission. In 2007, CI raised about $9.4 million  

> from corporations, about 5% of its total revenues of $176.6 million.

>

> 	WWF took in about $7 million in corporate grants, about 4.3% of its  

> $161 million in revenues last year. Its partner-donors include Coca- 

> Cola, Hewlett-Packard, and Johnson & Johnson. WWF says it won't take  

> money from alcohol, tobacco, or firearms firms, and tries to avoid  

> those that engage in animal testing and nuclear power.

>

> 	"We raise money to support all of our work, and corporations are a  

> source," says Suzanne Apple, WWF's vice president and managing  

> director for business and industry. "I don't find it compromises us.  

> In fact, in some cases, because of relationships we've built, we're  

> able to push companies harder."

>

> 	Besides, as CI's Prickett says, some companies respond better to  

> praise than they do to criticism, just as some non-profits do better  

> at partnership and others specialize in activism. "For every  

> Conservation International that's about collaboration and  

> partnership, you need a Greenpeace that's about agitating and  

> challenging business," he says.

>

> 	But should green groups really praise bottled water?

>

> 	"When Fiji Water came along and said they had a business interest  

> in protecting their watershed, that was an opportunity for us," he  

> says. "That nation is going to find something to ship out of Fiji.  

> It could be logs or an industrial product. We'd much rather see it  

> be a clean product that is produced with renewable energy."

>

> _____________________

>

> CORPORATION WATCH: Shining a Spotlight on Corporate Pathology

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