State of Independence
Greenpeace doesn't take any government or corporate money. Period. It's something we don't always explain clearly enough, and some of our supporters quite reasonably ask us why we don't just take the money - after all, once it's in our hands it's going to a good cause.
Well, here's one reason why. One of the things you can do on our website, right now, is challenge the IT industry to develop a green computer. We have to challenge them, because right now a green computer just doesn't exist.
One of the other things you can do on our website is download a ranking guide which shows Sony Ericsson to be one of the greener manufacturers of hi tech electronics. Now, suppose we took money from Sony Ericsson. All the other companies on the list would cry foul and say we were only being nice to Sony Ericsson because of the money - and a lot of people would believe them.
Or suppose we took money from one of the lower scoring manufacturers, like Panasonic. Suddenly we'd find ourselves in a very difficult position, having to trade off spending the money on (say) saving the Amazon versus campaigning against Panasonic.
So by restricting ourselves to donations from individuals we make sure the only questions we have to ask ourselves when spending money are 'would our supporters approve of this?' and 'will this make a difference to the environment?' It keeps things simple and it lets our supporters have confidence in us.
So, if you feel like joining the 3 million or so individuals around the world who support our work just click here. You'll be in good company.
Comments
I love that Greenpeace doesn't take corporate/gov't money. In any organization that does, I worry about corruption. This keeps everything clean.
Posted by: Lily | November 6, 2007 5:53 PM
Hi there!
Yes, that sounds great...not taking funds from the Government.
That is one of the problems with Politicians; once they've accepted money from a donor, they feel obligated to listen to their lobbyists.
Some organizations, and individuals in public office & service, should ensure they are beyond the potential for corruption, temptation, whatever - by refraining from putting their hand in the cookie jar, in the first place!
Julian
www.ijulian.blogspot.com
Posted by: Julian Ayrs | November 7, 2007 6:40 PM