The emergence of the caring corporation
Last week ended on an exciting note with 180 leaders of the biggest global corporations, including Walmart and JPMorgan Chase, overturning 30 years of neoliberal, ruthless pursuit of profit, for the benefit of shareholders.
They pledged that their firms’ purpose was to serve their customers, staff, suppliers and communities in addition to their owners.
Can a new corporate focus support communities fairly?
BHESCo has been waiting a long time for this monumental shift in corporate focus, creating the potential for a more equitable society with a broader distribution of profits reaching all members of society.
Certainly it means that corporations will start supporting the efforts of grassroots community energy groups, transitioning our communities from dirty fuels while improving access to clean and affordable energy.
This shift in focus will expand the areas of corporate accountability to all living beings, plants, air, water and soil.
Corporate actions speak louder than words
Supporting BHESCo by investing vital capital resources into our growth will enhance the distribution of ownership.
It will open up accountability and strengthen governance, encouraging more shareholders to become a co-operative member and therefore, energy infrastructural owner.
Time to own up to the hidden cost of corporations
It is now time that corporations, which accumulate their wealth by emitting huge amounts of greenhouse gases take responsibility for those emissions.
Typical activities include:
- Air travel for employees
- Manufacturing processes
- Extraction of resources for their products
- Distribution and sales channels
All these activities place an unjust burden on the Earth. What they can do is begin to transfer some of the benefit of costing the Earth, to costing it in.
Holding out the olive branch to corporations
BHESCo is reaching out to all corporations who care about their social responsibility and who want to hold themselves accountable to the societies they operate in.
These corporations can start offsetting the footprint of their operations by appointing BHESCo and/ or other community energy groups as one of their channels to invest some of their resources for community benefit.
They will receive a report on how the offsets were accomplished and how they are contributing to delivering a positive measurable impact for a broad group of stakeholders
It’s not one or the other
Some critics have a theory that transitioning the economy off of fossil fuels will cause people (like coal miners or oil rig drillers) to lose their jobs.
However, this assertion has been challenged by reputable, intelligent visionary economists and think tanks, such as Kate Raworth, Thomas Piketty, the World Resources Institute, the New Economics Foundation, and even our own National Grid and the former Department of Climate Change.
Lets transform together
All of these organisations have put forth future scenarios for thriving economies that do not rely on fossil fuels.
These strategies are ambitious and achievable and do not depend on an expansion of our civil nuclear fleet. The key to success is simply the concentrated effort of a unified force.
Fortune favours the brave
It’s about new business models. We at BHESCo would like to see more support of our innovative business model.
One of the aspects of our business model that’s innovative is that our customers and employees are members of BHESCo. This means they have a say in our governance and imprint accountability into our DNA.
It's time to think long term for the benefit of society
Becoming a member of BHESCo is an investment in long-term value. An investment in BHESCo is a commitment to creating equity in the energy industry, equal access to renewable heating and electricity.
We are not playing a zero-sum game; people in obsolete jobs have been retrained in the past (lamp-lighters, switchboard operators), and we must pursue continuous retraining, continuous improvement.
We are not shutting down the fossil fuel industry – it is relinquishing its overwhelmingly destructive power. We are sharing the blessings of technologies so that the benefits of our scientific advances are made available to everyone so we all have access to life’s essentials.
No time to spare
A healthy economy requires an effective government that is willing to correct the unjust impact of market forces. The excessive profits earned by the fossil fuel industry, left to its own devices, will continue to threaten lives through food and water shortages, air pollution and the extinction of species.
No government intervention to eliminate cheap fossil fuels when they are being subsidised to such an extent is an imbalance that must be corrected.
Where can we start?
Let’s start with offsetting carbon emissions with BHESCo.
If your employer doesn’t have an offsetting plan, please demand that they do better to serve all of their stakeholders, not just their investors.
When it comes to your finances, demand that your money is directed towards channels where it will achieve social progress – BHESCo is an excellent candidate for pension fund investments, and for those who care about the impact that their capital can make on our society.
A better way, a better world is possible if we all pull together.
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