Who’s the leech, Mr Delingpole?
I’ve pretty much given up paying attention to “contrarian” anti-environmental bloggers – the purveyors of zombie myths that just won’t die – but it came to my attention that James Delingpole of the Telegraph has recently labelled my profession “leeches on the productive sector.” Given that Mr Delingpole earns a living from winding people like me up, I really shouldn’t rise to the bait. But, hey, it’s a Friday…
Let’s have a look at the sustainability consultancy profession. Like all business consultants, we operate in the marketplace. We have to offer something to our clients which is of value to them above and beyond the price we charge for it. If we fail to do that we go bust – simple free market economics of the kind that Mr Delingpole claims to be a fan. And to insult our profession is to insult our clientele – Delingpole’s “productive sector” – as that’s where the demand comes from.
Mr Delingpole would presumably disagree with the pressing business case for sustainability – that by going green you can win more business, protect your brand, attract and retain staff more easily, cut costs and avoid current and future risks. But, as with his views on climate change and renewable energy, he is proved wrong by any objective look at the facts – to take one recent example, this 2012 Harvard Business School study which concludes “sustainability-focused companies outperform their peers.”
Sustainability consultants help their clients unlock this competitive advantage and charge commensurate fees in return. But, hey, let’s not let evidence, scholarship and market forces get in the way of histrionic polemics.
Far be it for me to cast aspersions back, but which profession delivers more for the economy and society? One that helps businesses thrive within the limits of the natural environment, or a job which appears to consist of copying and pasting unscientific nonsense off the web, adding some snark at the top and bottom, and presenting yourself as some kind of expert? Over to you, Mr Delingpole…
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