The Enemy Within
Julio F. Campos
Here are presented the reasons behind that article.
As many people, ever since childhood it was my desire to work close to the environment. Being raised close to nature made it a mere consequence.
Growing up I understood that the environment was threatened by those “evil” corporations whose main objective was to explore and profit, no matter the consequences. However, as I began to actually do research on the problem while obtaining my scientific degrees on the sustainability field, I realized that that was a naïve perception for those corporations are not the worst problem that one faces when trying to work for a more sustainable world. Those “evil” corporations are not the problem.
The enemy within is.
The enemy within is that group of professionals who, at some point in their careers decided to work with sustainability without putting their corporation needs in its correct place. They “want” to be sustainable, but the corporation and their jobs come first.
The enemy within is those sustainability executives who try to sell a sustainable image through actions that don’t stand upon a detailed analysis. Worse, usually, a simple mathematical check of their numbers show how fake their actions are.
The enemy within is those who, when asked about how they are dealing with air pollution come forth with the “We are compensating carbon emissions” argument. But forget that we know that there are others, worst, components of their local emissions.
The enemy within is those who, when asked about how they are dealing with resources depletions come forth with the “We are increasing efficiency” argument. But forget that we know that efficiency is irrelevant if the sales keep rising.
The enemy within is those who, when asked about how they are dealing with deforestation come forth with the “We are compensating” argument. But forget that we know that compensation won’t recover the lost local biodiversity.
The enemy within is those who, when asked about how they are dealing with social problems derived from their actions come forth with the “We have CSR programs” argument. But forget that we now that the budget directed to those programs is irrelevant.
The enemy within is those who, when asked about their data about their sustainability actions come forth with the “It is classified information, but we’re doing it” argument. But forget that we know that without that data it is impossible to verify the veracity of their claims.
The enemy within is those who, when asked about their sustainability measures come forth with their pretty looking sustainability reports. But forget that we know how to read numbers and graphs.
The enemy within is those who, when asked about their sustainability measures come forth with their nice awards. But forget that we know what goes behind the curtains to win those.
The enemy within are those who believe that they can fool everyone all the time, but forget that we know how to test the truth behind their claims.
The enemy within is masqueraded people, who want to make the unaware, often ignorant, consumer that they do are doing something about sustainability.
The enemy within is all those gullible people who accept those claims and arguments without raising questions.
However, the worst enemies of all are those having acquired the necessary knowledge to identify all those fake arguments, don’t do it and remain silent.
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