Corporations have gone to great lengths in recent years to persuade consumers that they are deeply committed to going green. Problem is, people can smell bullshit from miles away—and for good reason. When a company like BP is simultaneously releasing “green” advertising and millions of gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, you know you have a credibility problem. Make no mistake. BP is not an anomaly when it comes to companies talking a good game about corporate responsibility yet delivering naught. In fact just 29 percent of Fortune 1000 companies express any commitment to going green. When asked to identify the barriers to employing more green initiatives, 78 percent of executives cited "not enough return on investment". And therein lies the problem. Corporations aren’t willing to make the necessary sacrifices to do the right thing so instead; they feed consumers a steady diet of “feel good” garbage, take their money and run. That is, until a rig the size of a small continent blows up and the lies float to the surface (along with whales, sea turtles, dolphins, birds, fish and countless other marine species.)Consumers are willing to pay a premium for green products but when companies simply pretend they’re green only to be exposed later on, the results are as devastating as the black sludge violating the Gulf. Consumers become suspicious of any company, sincere or otherwise, waving an environmentally friendly banner, and green messaging fades until it is invisible. When that happens, we’ll all know exactly what it’s like to be part of the Gulf Coast community.
