If Mother Nature were to come calling

Even as the world grapples with escalating climate crises, corporate priorities in India continue to favour optics over genuine environmental action in their brand building effort

On average, 26 million people are displaced by disasters such as floods, rains, and storms every year in India. That’s one person forced to flee every second. Last year, more than 172 million people fled disasters in 125 countries and territories. Disasters displace three to 10 times more people than conflict and war worldwide. The number of climate-related disasters has tripled in the last 30 years. Between 2006 and 2016, the rate of global sea-rise was 2.5 times faster than it was for almost all of the 20th century. According to UN estimates, the developing world is already spending over $150 billion every year on adapting to climate change and coping with its damage — the news gets worse, with the figure climbing to $300 billion by 2030.

In corporate boardrooms in India these days, there is more talk with the ad agency on ESG, SDGs and CSR than brand building. There is an increasing desire to be instantly “woke” — by identifying with environmental causes and concerns that will make their brand “look good”.

During one such conversation last week, I tried explaining to an over-anxious CEO that with increasing global surface temperatures, the possibility of more droughts and increased intensity of storms is becoming a certainty. More heat in the atmosphere and warmer ocean surface temperatures can lead to increased wind speeds in tropical storms. We saw that happen recently in Odisha. And we will see it re-occur in other geographies too, frequently and increasingly. But the CEO remained impervious to any such conversation: He just wanted to “showcase” his company to investors, analysts, and policymakers by talking about some groundwater and rain harvesting initiatives at the company’s manufacturing locations — the understanding of a bigger picture was completely missing. 

There is a very interesting WhatsApp video going around these days on Mother Nature’s visit to Apple headquarters. When Mother Nature (played by Octavia Spencer) asks about materials usage, the interaction goes something like this:

Mother Nature: Materials status?

Apple employee: Yes. We are in the process of eliminating all plastic from our packaging by the end…

Mother Nature interjects: Let me guess, 50 years from now when someone else is holding the bag.

Apple employee: …by the end of next year actually.

Another Apple employee adds: And we are also currently using recycled aluminium enclosures for all our Macbooks, Apple TVs, Apple watches …

A little later in the video, there is another interesting interaction.

Mother Nature: Electricity status?

Apple employee speaks up: We’re operating on 100 per cent clean electricity.

Mother Nature: What operates on 100 per cent clean electricity?

Apple employee continues: Every Apple office, store and data centre runs on clean electricity, thanks to you and your powerful wind and sun.

Another Apple employee adds: And Apple offices are already carbon neutral.

Mother Nature: This building is carbon neutral?

Apple employee: Yeah. We do it with a mix of clean energy and eliminating greenhouse emissions.

The conversation then turns to transportation.

Apple employee: I’m proud to report that we’re shipping more products by ocean rather than air, which reduces transportation emissions by 95 per cent.

Mother Nature’s deputy is surprised and impressed. Trying to get his boss’ validation, he asks: 95 per cent? Not too bad.

Apple employee: I am also happy to report that we’re also investing in projects around the world that protect the Earth’s soil, plants and trees.

Mother Nature scoffs and rises from her chair: Everyone says they’re planting trees.

Apple employee takes Mother Nature on: We’ve planted forests.

Mother Nature asks: Where?

Employee: Paraguay. Brazil.

Mother Nature: Are you trying to save the Tropical Savanna?

Employee responds confidently. Yes. And we’ve also restored the mangroves in Columbia.

Mother Nature: What else?

Apple employee: Grasslands in Kenya.

Mother Nature: Why?

Apple employee: Our aim is to permanently remove carbon from the atmosphere.

A visit by Mother Nature to the headquarters of most companies in India would not elicit answers that would even be remotely close to the Apple spunk and confidence. Most CEOs in India would rather support “causes” that make for good brand imagery and perhaps win some advertising awards. That most “causes” are vague, and non-specific doesn’t seem to worry most head-honchos. As long as the right boxes are being ticked, and it all “sounds” nice, kuchh bhi chalega is the general attitude.

In conversation with another corporate leader from the agri-tech sector recently, I mentioned how climate change can severely disrupt crop cycles and cause low agricultural yield. Agriculture, with its allied sectors, is the largest source of livelihood in India and contributes significantly to the economy. Low yields can hit the rural economy and push inflation in urban areas as well. What’s your plan? “Soon”, he said noncommittally. All I ask is, when will “soon” happen?

The writer is chairman of Rediffusion