Climate week boycotts highlight need for business transparency

As Climate Week, promoted as a ‘Week of Action’ launched this morning (21 March), more than 20 environmental groups including People and Planet and Platform have boycotted the event in protest against sponsor Royal Bank of Scotland’s (RBS) funding of the coal industry.

In a report, released by Platform to coincide with the launch, RBS ranked eight of  35 companies financing the largest 20 cola companies and three for financing the 20 largest coal-based electricity generators.

Mel Evans, reporter co-author from Platform said: “All over the world, diverse groups from community activists to schoolchildren, small businesses to faith-based networks, are starting to take action on climate change. Big business is following suit, but often with tactics that bring their integrity into question.

“Climate change is being used as to create a new kind of brand identity, without any of the fundamental changes needed to tackle the root causes of the problem itself – the use of fossil fuels.”

She said it was inappropriate for RBS to use language around climate change action while financing climate destructive industries.

The report ‘Dirty Money: Corporate greenwash and RBS coal finance’ found at between 2008 and 2010, RBS provided the coal industry with almost €8 billion of finance.

Platform urges the company to recognise that the biggest impact on climate change comes from the companies they finance, and adopt policies for companies who work in particularly problematic fossil fuel areas such as tar sands in Canada.

The also called for transparency and asked the company to calculate and disclose the carbon emissions embedded in the financial provision they provide.

However, RBS say they take their environmental responsibilities very seriously. An RBS spokesperson said: “We are a leading backer of renewable energy projects and are committed to supporting the economy through the transition to more sustainable forms of energy generation.  Climate Week is an important initiative that we are proud to support.”

They highlighted the environmental projects they are leading. Last week RBS backed the UK’s biggest residential solar power scheme that will benefit over 30,000 houses.

The deal uses a new funding model, structured by the company to help attract private finance to the project. They say the scheme will contribute towards the UK’s target of sourcing 20 per cent of its total electricity from renewables by 2020.

The groups involved in the Boycott include Platform, Friends of the Earth Scotland, the World Development Movement and People and Planet, who this morning award their ‘greenwash coup of the year’ to the sponsors.

Celebrities have also joined the boycott including comedian Alistair McGowan.

 

Image: Bert Kaufmann | flickr