Corporate Greenwashing’s Sugar-Coated Bullets: How Should NGOs Hold Their Ground? | Food Talk Vol. 46
Recently, news that the platforms have softened their stance and signalled willingness to pay social insurance for delivery riders has sparked heated debate. How many riders will actually benefit, and whether this will genuinely improve their working conditions, remains to be seen.
In the latest episode of Foodthink’s podcast Food Talk, we start from the environmental problem created by food delivery — the staggering volume of single-use plastic waste — and have a serious conversation about the challenges and choices facing environmental organisations as they engage with businesses.
The reason we made this episode is that we discovered something: Meituan, a company that generates enormous quantities of single-use plastic waste from food delivery, has begun funding environmental organisations working on plastic reduction.
We cannot help but wonder whether this will compromise the independence and operational logic of environmental organisations that advocate for waste reduction and campaign against single-use plastics. We also hope to use the food and agriculture sector as a lens through which to explore the complex relationships between businesses that generate a wide range of environmental and social problems, public-interest organisations trying to solve them, and the government, media, and public that sit between the two.
- Why do polluting companies fund environmental organisations?
- What tools can public-interest organisations use to protect the environment and uphold social justice? What role does government play? How should the public understand these roles?
- Beyond co-opting NGOs through funding, what other means do companies use to influence them?
- What other public relations and government relations tactics do they employ?
- As environmental issues grow ever more complex, how should public-interest organisations navigate this landscape? When there is a (potential) funding relationship, how should conflicts of interest be managed?
- Is there an ethics to fundraising for public-interest organisations? What debates, case studies, and principles exist, both in China and abroad?
- How can public-interest organisations and the media help the public understand the complexity of the food and agriculture sector, see through corporate greenwashing, and make informed choices?
This Episode’s Guests
Sun Shan
Ecological practitioner and co-founder of the Shan Shui Conservation Center. She began farming in 2015, immersing herself in life connected to the land, agriculture, food, ecology, and self-sufficiency (homesteading). Now based in Canada, she runs Chi Garden Ecological Farm and Fermentation Kitchen. In 2024 and 2022, she attended the 16th and 15th Conferences of the Parties (COP16 and COP15) to the UN Convention on Biological Diversity, held in Colombia and Montreal respectively.
Ma Tianjie
Freelance environmental writer. He has been involved in environmental advocacy since 2004 and previously headed an international environmental organisation. He has long focused on environmental governance in China, contributing analysis and commentary to numerous media outlets. His forthcoming book, In Search of Green China, is due to be published shortly.
This Episode’s Host
Tianle
Founding editor of Foodthink and convener of the Beijing Organic Farmers’ Market.
Timeline
06:29 How do companies start intervening in issues to protect their own interests? And how should NGOs respond?
08:18 The rise of “false solutions”
09:07 Over 3,000 companies attend the Global Biodiversity Summit — what does this mean?
13:44 Should environmental organisations have moral resolve? Why do phenomena of living off handouts and taking tainted money exist?
15:13 Are food delivery platforms’ “green option” really reducing plastic?
17:00 The Asia Pulp & Paper environmental controversy of 20 years ago and the transformation of grassroots environmental organisations since
22:28 Public-interest organisations “dancing with wolves” — who sets the pace?
26:12 Public-interest organisations’ development lags behind China’s economic and social progress
28:53 The elephant in the room
30:01 How public-interest organisations and businesses navigate power dynamics on the international stage
32:09 Who speaks for the public interest?
34:22 Greenwashing has produced 50 Shades of Green
35:52 Who should public-interest organisations stand with?
37:23 AI and algorithms
39:07 The role of the media: Southern Weekly’s Greenwashing Watch List and the omnipresence of advertorials
41:40 The Nestlé infant formula scandal
45:44 What are the Filipinos defending by taking their government to court to oppose Golden Rice?
48:00 Power struggles between businesses and NGOs over fair trade, organic certification, and the NGO mission
57:20 A preview of Tianjie’s new book, In Search of Green China
– Topics referenced in this episode –
► Should China’s environmental NGOs say no to the Ford Motor Fund for the Environment? https://www.chinadevelopmentbrief.org.cn/news/detail/10216.html
► Asia Pulp & Paper controversy: Green Village founder announces withdrawal from the All-China Environment Federation:
https://finance.sina.cn/sa/2007-05-01/detail-ikftssap0931851.d.html
► The Nestlé infant formula scandal: uncovering the dark truth behind baby formula
► What are the Filipinos defending by taking their government to court to oppose Golden Rice?
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*This episode’s cover image was created using an AI tool
Music: Ba Nong
Planning: Xiaojing
Production: Xiaoputao
Editing: Tianle
Contact: xiaojing@foodthink.cn