Corporate Greenwash: is THIS the TRUTH behind their lies?

we are in the process of destroying this planet you are you're in the process it was earth day recently a time for us all to reflect on the ecology and whether ecological disaster and decline is being caused by individuals like us or great big powerful corporations that frequently use greenwashing messages around ecology in order to promote their interests so who is to blame for climate change global meltdown the problems the world's facing is it you or is it giant corporations as environmentally conscious practices become more and more commonplace corporations are helping us make better decisions good old corporations we can always rely on them to help us make better decisions the priority of corporations has always been better decisions for the environment in fact if you stack up what's best for the consumer and the environment here and what's best of corporations here it's only ever going to go one way and i don't think any of us doubt what way that is by giving us eco-friendly options or are they believe it or not it's much harder to tell the difference now between a product that's actually all green from one that is simply been green washed what we mean by green wash is the reality that the corporation or company present versus the actual reality what they actually do often what happens is they do one or two things that they heavily promote and sort of smash into your face to distract you from other activity that you know usually is greatly at odds with the messaging that we're receiving and also i think the sort of broader ideological presentation that you are individually responsible i sit there doing all that recycling in my heart of hearts thinking is there any point in me rinsing out this jar of domio is fair is that what's required i'll get the old doll mirror out i've put it in the correct bin is everything gonna be okay now jesus the world today is confronted with an urgent carbon crisis today we're making the commitment that by 2030 microsoft will be carbon negative now for this carbon negative carbon negative all right so there you go trees piano everything's okay microsoft announced an initiative to go zero waste by 2030. i mean zero waste you shouldn't get around applause for that i plan to stop punching my children in the face oh by 20 30. what came out just pages and to source 100 renewable energy by 2050. but here's the reality you heard it pledges neutral 2030. they've all got this site set on oh good old 2030. didn't they because it's like oh it can't be too soon but it's got a sound it can't sound stupidly far off microsoft has partnered with right if you're looking to sort out carbon neutrality you gotta go with people who know the business inside out that's why microsoft has partnered with oil giants chevron and schlumberger world's largest oil field service provider to accelerate oil field development and extraction and fossil fuels that would hold a minute that's not going to help if this would increase carbon emissions oh this kind of partnership is not new to the company microsoft has aggressively caught the oil industry forming partnerships with exxon mobil and hosting exhibitions like empowering oil and gas with ai at industry conferences i just find that a bit offensive don't you like doing all that and that lovely piano that we were all into that is why we're going to be carbon neutral by half past eight well that seems to oh sorry 20 30. and now it's our good friends at chevron and exxon you can't do that we're doing that at 2030 also not just across our direct emissions but across our supply chain too it's like for children like just showing us a bunch of pictures of trees there's some trees i'll stand in front of some trees it's like taking the piss a bit in it we must take responsibility to address the carbon footprint of our own technology and company but we will also go beyond that well you won't will you because it actually is worse what you're doing don't pretend you're actually going beyond it we're going beyond it but backwards beyond it back and beyond by 2050 we will remove from the environment all of the carbon we have emitted directly or by electrical consumptions since our company's founding in 1975. is that good 2050. even the people there at microsoft have been forced to attend this in their lunch break i'm i'm gonna struggle to i can do this clap for that this is the decade for urgent action for microsoft and for all of us to take bold steps forward to address our most pressing challenges we hope you will join us on this journey well you will because you work at microsoft and the other thing is that that's not what's really happening is it this has been fair speech look it's got out of hand people are starting to realize where real power lies it lies with big organizations not individuals we're gonna have to put on a lovely little slideshow in front of some plants to get a little bit of breathing space up ironically there won't be much breathing space by 2030 because there's going to be carbon emissions all over everything it's going to be too late so just own it don't pretend microsoft's primary concern is everyone else microsoft's primary concern is microsoft what they should say is look we're going to do if we can to make a profit only concessions were absolutely necessary and we'll try to minimize the impact on their shareholders that's just what catholicism is supposed to need to reiterate what how these systems function but don't blatantly lie about it it's rude and it's offensive to the plants because each of us must commit to do more in order for us to collectively achieve more that's sort of true in a sense of like in a spiritual awakening but in this context here the idea of continually depositing blame and culpability with individuals you reform the narrative to be about individual culpability rather than well collective responsibility or even institutional responsibility of course it's better if i as an individual recycle and do my bit and everything but it's not gonna make a blind bit of difference if people in positions of real power don't make radical changes and those radical changes would necessarily mean altering their business model in a more sort of home spun and simple way as part of my 12-step philosophy we're told that you have to do service oh you have to do things for other people and the definition of service it has to be inconvenient to you if it's not inconvenient to you then it wasn't service if it's like oh well i was going to do that anyway that's no problem what microsoft are doing is what i've always done maximizing the efficiency of microsoft there'll never be something they do like jeff bezos i've given away all this money how much money you've got now more than ever how is that giving away money jeff bezos out with his next big idea announcing a multi-billion dollar effort to fight climate change calling it the bezos earth fund in 2019 amazon co-founded the climate pledge few to be net zero by 2040 aiming for 100 renewable power by 2025 making half of its deliveries carbon neutral by 2030. in 2020 bezos announced via instagram 10 billion in grants to kickstart the bezos earth fund well that all sounds brilliant doesn't it you hear that 10 billion carbon neutral 20 30. it's all going to be fine let's have a look at some other information that's equally true and see what you think is going to have the biggest impact on the planet jeff bezos is infamously misleading when it comes to donating to charitable causes towering big sums while only providing a fraction amazon has a poor record on environmental issues no no it doesn't i just told you a fund has poor record on environmental issues employee rights and taxes and their business model relies on over consumption we are in the process of destroying this planet you are you're in the process who's we i'm trying my best i'm washing out my doll meow jars it's you you're in the process of destroying this planet these great vast hangars filled with the world's poor putting stuff in a cardboard when it's like responsibility it's we when it's who's getting the bonuses it's i we have to work together to meet these goals it has to be done that way late last year bezos co-founded the climate pledge for businesses what's the iconography of this these blankets being pulled down to reveal some stuff like this is amazon the kind of resources they've got and it's like something happening at a church fight and now janet pull down the blanket that pledge came just one day before thousands of amazon employees walked off the job as part of a global climate strike let's say if you do really care look right hold on a minute jeff there's an opportunity to do something thousands of people have walked off the job they don't feel like they're being real treated is there anything i can do with the blankets i could i could get janet i paid her three pounds for an hour she's still available for another 26 minutes so janet put the blankets back up the group has criticized amazon's tech contracts with oil and gas companies and alleged retaliation against workers who voice concerns about the company's environmental impact think of the power the power that they could do if there was a genuine like these people they turn up on your tv say right i'm dedicated to change well bloody hell that's brilliant because you've got these incredible resources if you want change if you genuinely want change it's going to happen you're as powerful as a country that's like if like if amazon says we're doing things differently things are going to change immediately overnight is that what's going to happen amazon employees for climate justice reacted to the bezos new earth fund in a statement writing we applaud jeff bezos's philanthropy but one hand cannot give what the other is taking away actually that is how hands work that's a really good use of hands here you go we're just giving you this thing keep looking at the givi hand don't look at the taki head large corporations understand that there's a segment of consumers who are green there's an apparent spread of greenness among business but when you look at what these large corporations do they are both polluters and and greeners at the same time you wouldn't entrust darth vader with the future of the ewoks would yeah if darth vader turned up and said i'm gonna build more rope bridges than that for the ewoks you guys you ain't doing nothing shady with a death star are you duff no how cool how dare you oh it's a good job i've got this mask on you see how cross i am did you even suggest that i'm talking about green washing uh and i'm talking precisely about this apparent contradiction between suddenly every business is green and yet we know the planetary fundamentals are continuing to deteriorate they're all carrying on like this apple for example has reduced its comprehensive carbon footprint by 35 and all of its data centers and stores across 44 countries are powered entirely by renewable energy meanwhile apple whilst verbally committed to solving the pollution problems caused by its devices the culture of the company says otherwise in a time when unused and unrecycled smartphones are literally depleting the planet of necessary resources apple continues to push its buy one every year strategy to keep its profit margins high if apple really wanted to curb this issue right now it could easily make upgradable devices that would extend end of life expectancy and cut down on e-waste that's really interesting isn't it and the whole problem of certification lends itself to that kind of world because companies can get them certified they're building certified as green even if they're in the middle of the desert uh companies can be top ranked as sustainable companies with very sort of peculiar metrics yeah i got the feeling when i was writing that apple thing comprehensive carbon footprint it's such a weird thing to try to appreciate and understand isn't it how what are the metrics by how are you measuring that you know obviously how they measure it is a way that comes up with a bloody good result they're in charge of it they're in charge of the survey they're paying for it they're establishing the method by which it's not independent is it it's not right we've got some independent folk ground that we're going to really scrutinize the old carbon footprint so someone's going to be paid good work guys carry on the average super rich household has a carbon footprint 10 times the global average well there you go as usual these issues tend to be about economics and require a lot more than superficial gestures pr campaigns fancy slogans and blaming of ordinary consumers in order to elicit real change but of course real change is not what's required what's required is the appearance of change but when it comes to actual reality if you believe that there is an imperative to change the world in order to prevent ecological disaster then what they're doing is continuing to exacerbate the conditions that are allowed to bring that disaster about while wearing a sort of nice hat it's a very serious problem because it means people don't know what green or sustainable is now in a world where everything appears green or sustainable and yet we know at the back of our minds that very little that very little is you do know that don't you you know like i was speaking for myself i think oh god these fruit has come in plastic oh this can't be good i'm having a throws away like i'm really trying my best but i'm really seeing the limits of my personal ability to meaningfully contribute to such a huge task you'd have to change the most powerful institutions systems and operations in the world and the reason we can't change them with regard to this issue is the same reason we can't change them with any issue they want it to be like this they want it to be so green washing is the perfect solution the appearance of doing something while actually doing nothing because to do something would mean to destabilize their entire economic model and to deconstruct their power base if you enjoyed that video please give it a thumbs up or a like subscribe to this channel if you don't already and comment we read the comments down below as it were and also sign up to my mailing list go over to russellbrand.com and sign up to it now keep watching keep washing out the dough meow jar for now and just hope somehow that it makes a bloody difference

Channel: Russell Brand

Views: 629,147

Keywords: Russell Brand, Brand Russell, BrandThe, Russell Brand video, Russell Brand news, Russell Brand politics, News, Brand, politics, Russell, amazon, jeff bezos, microsoft, apple, earth fund, earth day, donation, billion, billions, billionaires, billionaire, climate, sustainable, sustainability, renewable, carbon footprint, energy, greenwashing, green washing

Id: PNLBlU80kKU

Length: 14min 58sec (898 seconds)

Published: Sun May 09 2021