Fifteen years ago Nike was hit by anti-sweatshop boycotts and the famous ‘swoosh’ became a symbol of the evils of globalisation. Today Nike’s website lists every factory that makes its branded products and the company is lauded as a leader in raising labour standards in the supply chain. Now the role of corporate bad guy has been passed to Coca-Cola, facing boycotts across the world for alleged labour abuses in Columbia and high pesticide levels in drinks in India. So can the corporate baddies change their spots? Can a shift towards transparency move a company from the boycott hit-list to the SRI wish-list?
Surely the best example of this decade will be Wal-Mart. Along with Coca-Cola, Wal-Mart has been cast as the ultimate corporate bad-guy. In recent years, the Wake-Up Wal-Mart campaign escalated the focus from local town-level campaigns to an internationally acclaimed film that emotionally illustrated the ‘high cost of low price’ for both local workers and international suppliers in the company’s supply chain.
Fed up of being portrayed as the bad-guy, Wal-Mart has taken the cue from US political candidates, with TV adverts setting out the company’s contribution to US society: more jobs, better healthcare benefits, higher charitable contributions and so on.
In August Wal-Mart raised the starting wage in many stores and in April the company extended eligibility for health benefits. And the retailer is pushing forward aggressively with its sustainability mission, aiming “to be supplied 100 percent by renewable energy; to create zero waste; and to sell products that sustain our resources and our environment”.
BP in the doghouse?
Meanwhile European corporate darling BP is making a star appearance in the US corporate doghouse. Press and public discontent is growing since BP shut down the country’s single largest source of domestic crude oil – the Prudhoe Bay field in Alaska. The main complaint was the consequent impact on oil prices. The US Environmental Protection Agency along with two other federal departments are now investigating BP’s Alaskan operations. And it gets worse: in recent weeks BP halted testing on pipelines after concerns that up to 200 workers on the pipes may have been exposed to asbestos.
These two ‘evils’, raising oil prices and endangering workers, are the sure ingredients for unpopularity. Forget the environmental impact of the spills, or the bigger question of dependency on such non-renewable resources. It seems that despite rising oil prices Americans just aren’t ready to prioritise sustainability as a priority issue above prices and jobs.
Meanwhile in Europe the public expects more from companies on sustainability and seems willing to reward those, like BP, who are making public commitments to invest in change. Supporters say BP, unlike its US competitors, is really engaging in action on alternative energy. For example, BP has launched targetneutral, a carbon offsetting programme, which encourages drivers to offset their cars’ carbon dioxide emissions. Earlier this year Ford announced its own Greener Miles programme, encouraging customers to measure and offset their emissions. Both companies face real challenges in encouraging US motorists, already reeling from the leap in gasoline prices, to part with even more money for the pleasure of hitting the road. But regardless of their success, the publicity around the offsetting programmes sure helps position the brands in the ‘good-guy camp’ – even if only for now.
Good or bad apple?
When Apple was slammed over reports of forced labour at a factory producing iPods in Longhua, China, America’s youth took note. Apple took a leaf from Nike’s book and immediately promised to investigate working conditions. Apple says it found no forced labour but did find several violations of its code of conduct by that particular supplier, which has been asked to change its policy.
An inconvenient history?
Many wondered whether the success of Al Gore’s climate change movie An Inconvenient Truth would position him as a realistic candidate for president in 2008. While the movie has driven a huge rise in awareness of the issue, it is unlikely that voters will forget his ‘core business’: losing to Bush in 2000. Once again it shows that environmental issues are interesting, but they aren’t necessarily winners.
Michelle Dow heads The Corporate Citizenship Company’s US office.
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