How we use Covid as an excuse to pollute

by | Jul 8, 2020 | Blog

Credit: SophieB

As lockdown eases in many parts of the world it seems that littering is back in a big way.  Countryside beauty spots and urban open spaces have become the dumping ground for revellers frustrated after months cooped up with only their own habitat to despoil.

Now the corporate equivalent of littering could return. There’s nothing scientific about this suggestion, but from conversations it seems some manufacturers are using Covid as an excuse to cut corners on environmental standards, such as avoiding waste treatments on new production lines. Anything to reduce the capex.

Live to regret

And this week Christine Lagarde, president of the European Central Bank, said in the FT that those who would be tempted to use Covid as an excuse to pollute “would live to regret it”.

It’s understandable when money is short you’ll try every ruse to minimise expenditure.  It’s what developing countries are doing with their energy investments: installing redundant, inefficient coal-fired power stations from China rather than cleaner but more expensive options. Low standards may be costly for the environment and human health but they’re certainly easier on the pocket.  

It’s what the Trump administration has been pushing with its program to lower or eradicate environmental standards which prove irksome to those in industry who prefer a race to the dirty bottom.   

Ever since environmental legislation was introduced, business has rightly called for a level playing field. This is, of course, difficult to achieve with global manufacturing and lack of international accord on environmental standards. Free riders will always take advantage of those who want to improve.

Doing better

And yes, there are examples of companies who have tried to do the right thing, upped their standards in anticipation of promised legislation and then found themselves disadvantaged when the politicians failed to deliver. It’s a delicate balancing act: navigating legislation, pre-empting regulation, meeting the needs of customers, maintaining standards and keeping costs down. Some companies do it better than others.   

If there is a moral to this situation it is this: it’s easy to find excuses to do less than your best – and now Covid provides the ideal excuse to lower standards further.  

But lax standards have a way of biting back. That’s what happened to the US and European municipal recycling initiatives. These were predicated on China taking the West’s waste. It worked well for a while with tons of plastic going east and polluting China’s environment.  China finally realised the shortcomings of its low standards and banned the import of the West’s trash.    

If we had pursued high standards in recycling from the start, we would all be in a better place now. This is because we would have innovated and sustainable packaging would not be an oxymoron.  

Judging by human nature it seems inevitable that we will continue to use Covid as a convenient excuse for not doing our best – littering and skimping on capex. Expect a messy, polluted post- Covid future. 

Excuse me as I throw the remnants of my fried chicken meal from the car window.  The cows love the secret recipe.

Is easyjet’s sustainability call a swallow or a cuckoo?

by | Jun 8, 2020 | Blog

How prominent will sustainability be in post-Covid corporate messaging? 

Cynics say it will be largely absent because the public will be more interested in economic growth and less in the virtues of companies being nice to people and the environment.

Green optimists argue the opposite, seeing consumer demand for an economic recovery that tackles acknowledged sustainability challenges that were being largely ignored pre-pandemic.   

That’s why a marketing email from the European budget airline, easyjet, is so interesting. Even heartening. (And I never thought I would use that word in the same sentence about an airline that has often let me down).

As with most airlines, easyjet’s business evaporated overnight after Europe went into lockdown.  That it is still sufficiently alive to send marketing emails is a small miracle.

Heartening

What’s even more heartening is the inclusion of sustainability in its three key messages linked to the relaunch of its services under its “Europe with Confidence Pledge”.  Here’s an extract from the letter from its CEO, Johan Lundgren.

“That’s why today, in light of COVID-19, we’re launching our ‘Europe with Confidence Pledge’. A promise to you, our customers, that we’ll look out for your wellbeing, reaffirm our commitment on sustainability, and continue to offer great value.” (Our italics).

And this is what Johan has to say about sustainability:

“Even though the way we operate will look different for a while, we will not be compromising on the promises we have made around the environment. We recognise that we have a responsibility to minimise the impact of our flights and are focused on operating efficiently now, and on the development of electric aircraft in the future. In the interim, we continue to offset the carbon emissions from the fuel used for all of our flights on behalf of our customers, and we’re proud to be the first major airline in the world to do so.”

Corporate tosh

Of course, cynics will call this is predictable corporate tosh hatched by wild-eyed PR people hungrily feasting on easyjet’s last dollar. Maybe. But I’m tempted to see the inclusion of sustainability in the three key messages as a harbinger of change for the good.  A sort of cuckoo’s call for the start of a new spring in corporate commitment to sustainability.

Instead of the virtue-signalling practiced by so many companies, I’m looking forward to a genuine change in emphasis in support of policies that will cut carbon, promote a green recovery and, yes, be nice to people in the supply chains. It’s called respecting human rights and paying people properly.

Leading businesses have been lobbying for a green recovery programme in Europe, in support of the EU’s green deal. But we are yet to see direct consumer messaging on the importance of sustainability post-Covid.

Let’s hope easyjet’s message is a cuckoo’s call rather than the sighting of a single swallow (that did not make a spring).