- The Observer,
- Sunday February 2 2003
What would Swampy say? At the time of the Newbury bypass protests, the skinny eco-warrior became a national heart-throb, but found fame superficial and quickly ducked out of the limelight. Many of his comrades, though, are choosing a different path. More and more of the country's most prominent greens are deciding that you can be high-minded and make a fortune.
Peter Melchett, the former Greenpeace director, is only the latest high-profile campaigner to take the corporate shilling. But Lord Melchett and his fellow-travellers insist they are the environmental movement's trojan horses, infiltrating industry to argue for change from the inside.
Melchett's acceptance of a lucrative consultancy last year with Burson-Marsteller, the international public relations outfit, was condemned by some of his former peers. B-M, after all, advised Union Carbide in the wake of the infamous chemical leak in Bhopal, India, which killed thousands of that city's inhabitants in 1984.
The firm has also worked for major polluters like Shell and BP, as well as such edifying characters as Nicolae Ceaucescu of Romania and Suharto's regime in Indonesia.
On the other hand, nobody has recruited as many famous environmentalists as B-M. Melchett has followed in the footsteps of Des Wilson, founder of homelessness charity Shelter and campaigner for lead-free petrol; and Gavin Grant, spokesman for the Body Shop during its long campaign against Shell in Nigeria. All were recruited to B-M's corporate social responsibility unit, which advises companies on ethical and environmental issues. It was set up by Richard Aylard, himself a former leading light in the Soil Association.
'As environmentalists we are all trying to achieve change,' says Aylard. 'But a lot of that progress is dependent on action taken by the business community. By advising companies from the inside, Peter Melchett can achieve arguably as much as he did from the outside by working with Greenpeace.
'High-profile campaigning by green groups is what makes the headlines, but they are also engaged in a lot of constructive dialogue with companies. Greenpeace and Friends of the Earth are against unsustainable business practices, but they are not anti-business.'
Aylard, who now advises full-time for Thames Water but retains a seat on the B-M board, added that nobody at the PR firm is expected to work for clients of which they personally disapprove. B-M's CSR unit mainly advises the likes of Kingfisher and Unilever. But some claim the very notion of corporate social responsibility is a device used by companies to avoid making environmental reforms of real worth.
George Monbiot, the campaigning journalist, wrote last year that Melchett risked sacrificing his credibility for money. 'Because corporations have invested too heavily in avoiding democracy, CSR has become big business for greens,' he said. Ian Willmore of Friends of the Earth is less sceptical, but still fears that some private-sector environmentalists are being used.
'We recognise that companies are the engine of the economy and that there are people who work for them who are interested in the environment. So to help them build on the things they already know is an important part of campigning. For example, B&Q sources timber from renewable sources rather than from rainforests, say, and the company chose to do that simply because its senior management became convinced it was the right thing to do.
'Some companies, though, are interested not so much in changing their practices as in presenting a more acceptable face to the public.'
Willmore adds: 'They may hire green campaigners just to get an insight into what we are thinking and what our weaknesses are.'
Environmental activists who decided that change comes from within
· Lord Melchett
Melchett hit the headlines when he was filmed leading an attack by boiler-suited activists on a field of genetically modified wheat. But a year after quitting as UK head of Greenpeace, he went to work for Burson-Marsteller, public relations advisers to GM firm Monsanto as well as other corporations demonised by the environmental movement. Critics poured scorn on Melchett's move, but he was unrepentant: 'This poacher-turned-gamekeeper stuff is simply not fair. I am going to be giving advice to companies about environmental and social issues, which is similar to what I was doing at Greenpeace.'
· Tom Burke
Environmental policy adviser to Rio Tinto, the mining giant frequently attacked by campaigners for alleged pollution and profiteering in developing countries. Burke worked formerly for Friends of the Earth and the Green Alliance, and advised the Tory environment secretaries Michael Heseltine and John Gummer. Rio Tinto, whose annual general meetings were regularly hijacked by indigenous peoples waving 'Rio Tinto stinks' placards, hired him in 1997 to help it 'look at things from a different perspective'. Burke has since also been retained by BP. He claims that for too long environmentalists tried 'to win arguments rather than change outcomes'.
· Gavin Grant
As chief spokesman for the Body Shop, he was instrumental in the campaign by Anita Roddick's company to draw attention to the plight of Nigeria's Ogoni tribe and attack Shell's work in the region. Grant worked for the Liberal Democrats during the 1997 general election and later joined Burson-Marsteller's corporate social responsibility unit, which he now heads. He has long argued that a 'socially responsible' business culture is an achievable goal. Both Shell and the Nigerian government have used B-M, although the firm's employees have a right not to work for any clients they find offensive.
· Jonathon Porritt
The Old Etonian and former teacher represented the Ecology Party at numerous elections before bringing a little-known pressure group called Friends of the Earth to prominence in the Eighties. Later he set up Forum for the Future, which aims to persuade businesses to improve their environmental performance and has advised Tesco and ICI among others. Porritt currently heads the Government's Sustainable Development Commission. New-found status as 'Blair's green guru' has drawn disparagement from some environmentalists, but Porritt has not been afraid to criticise the Government. Last year, he branded its record on transport and waste management 'deplorable'.
