may day may day may day

Whilst campaigning in the 1980s against the nuclear deterrent, my father befriended a fellow pacifist, the late English composer Robert Simpson. Although politically interested, I was far too young to appreciate their political bond, which was in fact rooted in a love of great music. But I well recall my father recounting to me, when I was no more than ten years old, something Simpson said to him about nuclear war. Simpson’s greatest fear about nuclear annihilation, at a time when the superpowers of the day held in their hands the power to eliminate planet earth seven times over, was not the extinction of species, or even mankind, but a terror that the scores of Beethoven’s precious and timeless symphonies could be destroyed forever.

I must admit, to a young teenager more interested in beer and girls than the intricacies of classical orchestration or even war with the Soviets, this profound thought was somewhat wasted on me. But as I sat in the Royal Festival Hall on Friday evening listening to a staggeringly talented 28 year old Greek conductor (unusually, in her profession, a woman), Stamatia Karampini conducting the London Philharmonic playing the Overture to Wagner’s epic ode to love, Tristan & Isolde, I think I knew what Simpson meant. No less so when the truly brilliant Norwegian pianist, Sigurd Slattebrekk, played the Grieg Piano Concerto as though he had just discovered the meaning of sound itself.

I have long felt that those who yearn to save our wondrous planet have so much in common with those who truly appreciate and honour great music. Yet their worlds have too seldom collided. Environmental gurus revere Dylan and other popular cultural relics (albeit great ones) of the sixties. Classical music buffs are too concerned with the greatness of Mahler or Mozart to worry themselves about natural beauties like the turquoise mot-mot or the orangutans of the Asian rainforests. How I wish the two groups could combine (Classic FM is after all the most successful commercial radio station in the UK) and pool their common interest in the survival of all beauty on this earth for our common good. My father died, last year, at 92, having divided his life between journalism, political activism, poetry and the theatre. Perhaps a sub-conscious attempt to reconcile his concern for the people of this earth with the wonders they inherit in the arts. He lived long enough to see my passion for the survival of both our natural world and the musical culture that sustains its human habitants. In our day to day corporate lives, I wonder whether we would not all benefit from a little less time on email and a bit more energy devoted to the things, man-made and natural, that surely hold the key to our long term survival. On Friday night, listening to this heavenly sound flow from the orchestra, I would have deleted even the most important work email. Because in the grand scheme of things, it could not possibly have mattered.

 It reminded me always to remember the things that really count, be they sights or sounds.  If you don’t believe me, listen to that Wagner overture before you browse one more web-page today. It’s truly worth saving. It’s hard to believe anyone who heard it would engage in the carefree destruction of the planet that gave it life. Humanity has become the planet’s resident expert in waste. Some things are simply too good to waste, and the music that has survived generations is one of them. It represents natural beauty of a kind that only a nuclear holocaust could extinguish. In that sense, it is stronger than the vulnerable species that stand on the brink in the face of our wanton destruction.

Spent the week in Boston, where we launched Planet 2050 to the US market with Weber Shandwick’s Boston office. We had an excellent backdrop in the form of the annual Ceres Conference, which attracted an impressive 700 delegates from large and small companies, major NGOs and, critically, the investment community. As sponsors of the summit’s awards, we released some new research on Fortune 100 companies. For more on the launch of Planet 2050 in the US, click here. I admit to being surprised at how vast a gathering the Ceres event was, and there is no doubt in my mind that if there ever was a gulf between Europe and the United States in terms of the corporate sustainability agenda, it is fast narrowing. The highlight for me was a truly inspiring panel discussion between Jeffrey Swartz, CEO of Timberland, and Gary Hirshberg, the president of Stoneyfield Farm yoghurt, a sort of Innocent Drinks of North America (albeit older), now six times the size of Kraft’s dairy business. These two New Englanders, in their casual dress, spoke with such authenticity and vision, I wondered whether we would ever hear the CEO of a traditional multinational sound like this. And how funny to see Swartz in his jeans and Red Sox cap, as environmentalists wandered around the conference hall in their suits and ties. I can honestly say I have never enjoyed listening to a business leader as much as Jeff. Ceres has been monumentally successful in building a coalition of advocates from the investment and environmental campaigning worlds - proving once again that commercial profit and environmental stewardship really can be achieved in tandem. The most encouraging thing of all? That the major economic downturn in the US does not seem to be affecting the drive for more sustainable business one iota. I will return to that next week in an article I’m finishing off over the weekend.  Here’s to a sunny bank holiday.

My friend and ex colleague DJ Collins, now at Google texted me this morning about this great piece in yesterday’s Independent. In the last two weeks I’ve written about how finance and market power are increasingly being used to quantify the value of the services that rainforests provide to Planet Earth Ltd. Now here’s an example of technology playing its role. As one of the directors of Canopy Capital said in a quote I used in a previous post, “How can it be that Google’s services are worth billions but those from all the world’s rainforests amount to nothing?” So it’s good to see Google harnessing its existing technology for the benefit of threatened tribes people in the Amazon rainforest. Most high tech firms like Google have relatively low direct environmental impacts, because they don’t manufacture anything as such and the bulk of their environmental footprint would, like Weber Shandwick’s, be largely office-based, along with some travel. By using the power of their knowledge and resources in this way, companies like Google have the potential to be net benefactors to the planet (excluding all the indirect footprints of their services, such as the shopping decisions people make by using search engines). When it comes to illegal logging, we know we need a mixture of incentives (which only the marketplace can provide) and tougher regulations (governments, stand up please). But we need to deploy the most advanced technology too, which is why Google’s help for the Surui people is both timely and welcome. If every technology company in the world devoted just a small part of its resources to tackling the planetary crisis, just think what we could achieve.

In times of economic uncertainty, if not complete meltdown, people rightly ask about the fate of corporate responsibility and the priority given to environmental concerns. Not least because the rapid growth of strategic CSR in recent years has taken place against a generally stable financial backdrop. Some argue that recession, or the threat of recession, means CSR is the first ‘luxury’ to go as companies tighten belts and focus on the short-term bottom line. But this is to misunderstand what corporate responsibility is about, and why companies engage in it.

Certainly, for the company that has yet to embark on a deeply embedded CSR strategy, the fate of any plans hang in the balance as the threat of hard times looms. For the firm that views CSR as a ‘nice to have’, or as little more than philanthropy, it is unlikely to prosper until the economic downturn passes. But CSR is not about philanthropy, and many companies have now embedded it to such an extent that it is simply a part of the way in which they do business. It forms the core DNA of their modus operandi, and in that sense is much harder to undo. Not to mention the cost savings that properly executed CSR brings, through more prudent use of natural resources, a highly motivated workforce, reputational benefits, a bank of goodwill with non-governmental organisations and other stakeholders, and improved investor relations. Done well, corporate responsibility is a profit centre, not a cost.

Companies well down the path of corporate responsibility excellence are unlikely to dismantle their CSR strategies, because they can’t. And in communications terms, as competition for sales and market share becomes even harder in a recession, ethics form a key part of the corporate tool box.

Unilever, long a leader in sustainability, is not about to abandon its long established and praised approach to CSR, its new partnership on certified sustainable tea with Rainforest Alliance, or its commitments on climate change and water stewardship. Timberland is not going to drop its progressive ethical stance, and nor will Gap and Nike risk a return to the times when they faced boycotts and crippling litigation over Asian sweatshop factories. For these companies, getting the ethical agenda right is absolutely core to their survival. Some might even argue it is as critical as a healthy financial climate.

Corporate responsibility saves money, builds reputation, and provides whole new angles for communication, across all the marketing disciplines. It builds and cements a bond of trust between a brand and its customers. In times of economic hardship, that trust has a greater value than ever.

Loved this story in the Guardian about how a new condom making venture could help keep the Brazilian rainforest standing, as it were. Yet another example of the growing efforts to show forests can be worth more left standing than cut down.
 
More serious is this piece about the perils of planting fake activists in campaign groups to try to undermine them. I’m no fan of BAA (having again experienced their ‘customer service’ at a hopelessly chaotic London Heathrow on Sunday evening), but I’m relieved to see they weren’t behind this foolhardy strategy. It’s extraordinary that people think this kind of covert operation can still work without the risk, dare I say it, of exposure. It turns out the campaigners were a bit smarter than the mole on this one. Sad to think the chap involved couldn’t find a better use for his Oxford degree.
 
Lastly, this video clip is a good reminder about the perils of not adapting our transport systems to a fast growing population. If you thought the London tube system was bad, take a look! And then imagine our planet in 2050…

Following Unilever’s recent move to Rainforest Alliance certified tea for PG Tips, more good news for UK ethical shopping market today as Costa Coffee unveils its big plans for Rainforest Alliance coffee across the UK. As far as I’m aware this is the first time a big coffee chain has decided to convert its whole supply to Rainforest Alliance certified in the UK. It’s hard to miss Rainforest Alliance products these days. You’ll find certified coffee in an ever growing number of places, large and small, from McDonalds to Pret a Manger, in office canteens, airport lounges, and soon Costa! Factor in PG Tips’ certified tea, Innocent Drinks’ smoothies (100% of their bananas come from Rainforest Alliance certified plantations), Kenco’s ever growing range of sustainable coffees, and some more exciting plans in the pipeline, Rainforest Alliance has now gone mainstream in Britain. It’s great news for farmers, consumers, and the companies doing the right thing.  

Check out the latest Marketing Week/You Gov poll on green brands. In fact, the whole magazine is dedicated to environmental issues, with a heavy climate change focus. The success of M&S is no surprise, although as the survey notes one eye-catching feature is the rather poor performance of so-called ‘deep-green’ brands which are founded entirely on sustainability or ethical propositions. 5 years ago, it would be hard to imagine any communications magazine devoting this much space to sustainability issues. Indeed, sustainability seemed to live only in the public affairs departments of major companies, largely deployed as a reactive lobbying tool when under pressure. Today, sustainability is a big consumer-facing business. That’s good news, although it means the potential for greenwash and environmental nonsense has never been greater. Marketeers, take note!
 

I’m off on holiday for a week now, so no more blogs for a while. See you soon.

Following yesterday’s piece about JP Morgan buying Climate Care, BBC and several newspapers this morning report on another major collaboration between conservationists and money makers. This time the goal is to place a financial value on rainforests, those giant planetary utilities that have been so ravaged for so long. One of the directors of Canopy Capital (the financiers of a deal to protect Guyana’s pristine Iwokrama rainforest) puts it nicely in today’s Independent, asking “How can it be that Google’s services are worth billions but those from all the world’s rainforests amount to nothing?”
 
Expect to see a lot more work on valuing rainforests and creating financial incentives for their preservation in the months and years ahead. The Prince of Wales has launched his own Rainforests Project backed by a number of NGOs and multinationals, in an effort to find practical and profitable solutions to reverse the collapse of these vital eco-systems. As the profile of climate change peaks, it’s about time that rainforests (which of course play a central role in mitigating global warming by acting as a natural thermostat and storing carbon) took centre stage again. And if people make some money out of saving something of benefit to the whole world, at least it’s profit with a purpose. Iwokrama is one of just four intact rainforests left on the planet. So I’m 100% behind this deal.
 

We’ve all read about JP Morgan’s ongoing attempt to snap up the troubled Wall Street bank Bear Stearns, but an email newsflash just alerted me to another, perhaps more intriguing JP Morgan acquisition. The bank has just bought Climate Care, the carbon offsetting company that I’ve worked with in the past, and who provide offsets for Weber Shandwick’s most frequent UK flyers as part of our environmental policy. Mike Mason, the entrepreneur behind Climate Care, has taken this organisation from strength to strength over the past 10 years. I suppose the intention always was to sell, but I do find the merger of one of the most credible carbon offset companies with such a huge international institution a fascinating sign of the times. The big banks are under pressure for all sorts of reasons at the moment, not least because of the perceived underlying weaknesses in the global financial system. But scrutiny is also increasingly focused on how the financial world is tackling (or not) the major environmental challenges the planet faces. Today’s news suggests that JP Morgan intends to play its part, and of course make some money out of it too. Read more about the deal here

Last week the Rainforest Alliance edged closer to stardom – and tea from sustainably farmed sources also hit the big time with the official premiere of A Tale of Two Continents at London’s Prince Charles Theatre in Leicester Square. So my girlfriend and I headed over to the red carpet with some friends and Rainforest Alliance colleagues to join in the fun.
The movie is a new 10 minute comedy from Unilever’s PG Tips, who are busy converting their tea to Rainforest Alliance certified, a first for them and indeed for the Alliance. There’s more plot in this film than any recent 2 hour romantic comedy. The sustainable tea project is a very large scale innovation, and another major milestone in the mainstreaming of sustainable produce. Just as Unilever pioneered the Marine Stewardship Council for seafood more than a decade ago, once again they lead the field with tea. The film features my friend and colleague Anita Neville, with whom I’ve worked on Rainforest Alliance issues for the past 3 years or so. She is now so grand she is no longer taking calls. I expect she’s house hunting in Bel Air…

Sadly, the other star of the show, iconic PG Tips front man Monkey couldnt join us in person as he was busy picking up awards in Hollywood but he did take a brief moment to speak to us live via satellite and introduce the movie. You can see a trailer clip here…
A 5 minute version of the film will appear before The Spiderwick Chronicles, Horton hears a Who, Hannah Montana and Gameplan for the next 3 weeks in cinemas around the UK. And then fans will be able to grab a DVD version (with added extras) and a tea towel from supermarkets during April. The film will then be available as an online download from May.
It’s hard to believe how far the Rainforest Alliance has come in the UK in recent years, but last Wednesday’s event was a timely reminder. If you want to see business-NGO collaboration at its best, then this is it.