Why more NGOs are seeking corporate allies

There has always been a tension — sometimes healthy, sometimes not — between the agendas of corporate champions of sustainable business practices and decades-old non-profit stalwarts of the environmental movement, most notably Greenpeace, which continues its long-time policy of refusing corporate donations.

但也有一个证据充分的遗产constructive collaboration, like when McDonald’s and the aforementioned organization tangled over Amazon deforestation 10 years ago. That tussle was a wakeup call for the restaurant giant. Even though its own supply chain wasn’t the primary culprit, it responded to the Greenpeace criticism by looking far more closely at its business practices.

In the absence of progressive federal leadership under the Trump administration, NGOs and businesses would do well to seek more ways to advance their mutual cause. Or else they risk much of the progress made over the past 47 years, since the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency was created to balance the needs of the planet with the needs of businesses. We cannot, in short, taken anything for granted.

我们的指导信念是，大多数人，大多数公司来说，多数机构希望推动积极变革的一部分。

That sentiment emerged loud and clear during GreenBiz 17, as an unparalleled parade of environmental NGO leaders took the stage last week to share their visions, including Conservational International, Greenpeace, the Humane Society, Ocean Conservancy and Sierra Club.

"We’d much prefer to be sitting at a table, rather than hanging on a crane," said Annie Leonard, executive director of the not-afraid-to-be-confrontational Greenpeace. The group greeted Donald Trump at the White House with a huge banner emblazoned with one simple word: Resist. "We don’t bite, and we have a lot of data."

There's safety in numbers

通过speaking collectively, NGOs and companies can make their message more credible and, at the same time, find some "cover" for those leery of speaking out against a president who isn’t shy about attacking his critics.

“你不能在所有的，被啾啾”半开玩笑地说安妮·凯利，在谷神星，一个非营利，代表投资者的问题，指的是特朗普的Twitter长篇大论高级项目主管。

查找和走道上谁是盟友，或可能是双方支持的政治家，是比以往更加重要，呼应杰森马瑟斯，环境保护基金会的董事。虽然是声乐公开是至关重要的（在这个词的两种意义），马瑟斯认为暗道对话不能伤害。

"Companies have an important message to deliver to senators who are going to stand up," Mathers said.

That action doesn’t necessarily need to happen at the federal level. Many of Sierra Club’s most effective and successful alliances with the business community happen at the state and municipal level, observed Sierra Club Executive Director Michael Brune, who spoke at the conclusion of GreenBiz 17 in Phoenix.

"We view them as critical agents of positive change on a range of environment and civil rights issues. Most of the time, when we engage with the community, it is to drive solutions," he said.

Yes, Sierra Club will still use grassroots pressure to push business leaders to reconsider a policy that is at odds with the organization’s mission.

"We’re not trying to criticize a company because we are against corporate power or we’re against the existence of that company or that industry," Brune said. "We’re trying to find ways to solve problems. Our guiding belief is that most people, most companies, most institutions want to be a part of driving positive change."

一种新思维的催化剂

Beyond the political arena, NGOs can be useful allies in helping sustainability professionals introduce points of view that might seem like heresy if they were raised by someone on the corporate payroll.

Take the不太可能的合作伙伴关系centered on reducing marine plastic debris, between Dow Chemical and Ocean Conservancy. The two have used a very simple, tangible tactic to make employees, including influential executives, aware of the problem by asking them to participate in beach cleanups. Sieving through sand to remove debris can be very convincing.

这是人类的创造力和将要改革的路径巧思。

Don’t mistake criticism for an unwillingness to work together. "We’re not going to agree with all of our corporate partners on all of the issues," said Emily Woglom, vice president of Ocean Conservancy, during a GreenBiz keynote session.

如果你愿意听，你的组织可以探索新的商业机会。美国保护动物协会，例如，并不只限于工厂农场的做法，可以是残酷的猪，鸡，牛等动物的批评。它积极创新冠军初创公司，如植物类食品启动汉普顿河。

Another example: the rise of laboratories that test chemicals and cosmetics on chips or in petri dishes without hurting animals.

"They’re doing organ on a chip, they’re doing cell culture, they’re doing things at the molecular and system level that are allowing us to test thousands and thousands of chemicals and compounds that are now poisoning animals in incredible numbers but actually testing very few of the chemicals,” said the society's CEO Wayne Pacelle, during a keynote interview on the final day of GreenBiz 17.

这些方法将成为社会更好地从长远来看，他认为，与动物保护协会正积极鼓吹在一本名为这项事业“的人文经济”。“这是人类的创造力和将要改革的路径别出心裁，” Pacelle说。“如果我们确定一个道德问题，我们就可以有一个解决方案，是我们真正的创造性思维的产物。这就是发生了什么事“。