Well, the rich and the powerful are at it again with some new pledges from their favorite vacation spot. Per the usual arrangement, they gathered to speak at length and in eloquent language about climate change at the conference, right after they arrived in their private jets. Surely they have the technology to pull off a decent Zoom call.
In any case, this time around, over sixty big businesses have pledged to all and sundry that they would be more transparent. This latest pledge includes commitments to issue reports on things like greenhouse gas emissions, equal pay, water use, plastic use, and a lot more. It is of course good to pay attention to all of these things and that is the first step to actually doing something about improving the environment. However, does any of this even imply that anything is actually going to be done? Let’s take a look.
What is this pledge? It is a pledge to commit to report on various metrics. Well, that’s less than impressive. First, pledges have a way of not really materializing. There is always some reason they can’t be fulfilled. Commitments are no different. Maybe they are met, maybe they aren’t. Often, we never know because our memory is basically non-existent, the only thing we seem to have less of is follow through. So if we remember that there was a commitment, we most likely won’t even follow through to see if anything ever came of it. For a lot of people, that’s due to just plain laziness, for others, they’ve just come to accept that nothing is ever really going to change. And then, there are the reports that these companies (including MasterCard and Unilever) say they will be producing. Reports like this don’t change anything in and of themselves, at best, they are interesting spins on data. At worst, they are tremendous wastes of money that mostly exist to give the illusion of action. What usually winds up happening is that the pledges get lauded in the press and the companies go about business as usual. Or they might make some effort here and there, reducing plastics one year, emissions by a bit the next and other token gestures.
My personal favorite token gesture was actually at a local restaurant. If you recall a few years ago, everybody was very worked up over plastic straws and this restaurant was no different. They had signs proudly proclaiming that they weren’t using them anymore. Well and good. However, my drink was served in a single use plastic cup and I ate with single use plastic cutlery. Seriously, who are we trying to kid here?
My point here is that most of these pledges and reports are basically like ditching plastic straws while keeping the plastic cups. The cup might not fit up a turtle’s nose but it still is contributing to the problem of microplastics in the ocean. The main difference is that one has imagery attached to it that plays on our emotions. The pledges come with a lot of evocative headlines and photo-ops with people in suits signing things with fancy pens. In the end, it’s all theater.
If these companies are serious, they are going to have to start taking real action. For that, they are going to need some real data and not just react and make promises based on whatever headlines they see trending on social media. We encourage all of these companies to get in touch with TARTLE to investigate the best possible ways to get that data. We can put them in contact with real people on the ground in countries around the world to get a better read on what sort of policies and changes they most need to see that could make a real difference in people’s lives.
What’s your data worth? Sign up for the TARTLE Marketplace through this link here.
