From Conflict to Collaboration? Greenpeace’s Greenfreeze Campaign (Case Study)
Q1. Set out the tactics used by Greenpeace in the Greenfreeze campaign. Can you explain the overall strategy used by the organization?
Sometimes the best way to get something done is
to stand for it, no matter what. Some
of the main tactics that Greenpeace discovered that their leverage was greater
when they target the big brands using refrigeration technology rather than the
manufacturers, whose business tended not to deal very often with the end
consumer. Exactly when Greenpeace involved the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games in its
campaign , and targeted the Games sponsors.
Also Greenpeace played a pivotal role in matchmaking governmental
agencies and international donors (such as the World Bank, the German Ministry
for Development Aid, and the US Environmental Protection Agency) with key
international and local manufacturers.
Greenpeace adopted an exclusive and aggressive strategy to
control its message and protect its image. However,
the overall strategy that Greenpeace uses is being creative
and nonviolent to mobilize public opinion against the unsustainable practices
of governments or corporations. This objective is to obtain as much coverage as
possible through media in order to orient public opinion on certain issues.
Q2. To what extent would you say that Greenpeace had
changed from a conflict-based approach to a more collaborative mode of
engagement?
Greenpeace raised a problem with most western
countries due to a very aggressive a strategy that they used in the developing world to promote Greenfreeze. And
that was the main reason that Greenpeace changed to a more collaborative
approach which had been expressed in their dialogue.
Q3.
Who
are Greenpeace stakeholders in this case? What responsibilities, if any, would
you say that they had to these stakeholders?
Organizations like Greenpeace might work under a low
budget and rely on donations from their stakeholders and on the relationships
that they develop and dedicate to their volunteers and community members for
their daily program and activity. Stakeholders here might include two groups,
the first group are those who are already committed to working directly within the organization, such as the board members, volunteers, and donors, and the second group are those who are in the community and are impacted by the organizations
work.
The hard Job for any NGO is to determine how to
balance the expectations of its various stakeholders. However, Greenpeace shall
be more committed, reliable, and transparent in meeting all their stakeholder's expectations.
While the main responsibilities towards both groups can usually be found in the
Greenpeace mission statement " Greenpeace is the leading independent campaigning an organization that uses peaceful protest and creative communication to expose
global environmental problems and to promote solutions that are essential to a
green and peaceful future''
Q4. How would
you assess Greenpeace’s relative advantages in pursuing the Greenfreeze
campaign
compared to a company attempting to diffuse an innovation?
The fundamental approach that influences a new
idea to be widely spread is the innovation itself, channels, time, and the
system. Furthermore, for any innovation to be self-sustained it should be
widely adopted by relying on a sufficient
number of adopters to create more growth and sustainability.
When
assessing a non-government organization like Greenpeace and a profit
organization in terms of diffusing an innovative idea or product we must look
at the main goal that stands behind both. In
the Greenpeace approach, the consequences will include the impact of an
innovation on others like (countries, states, organizations, or social
movements) rather than the organization itself. The results here are more
related to issues of social prosperity.
In the profit or private approach, the
consequences will refer to the impact on a smaller group like communities. Here innovations are more related
to improve the quality of life.
Greenpeace had two main competitive advantages that highly contributed
to their success:
1. Their image and reputation: (Who
ever follows Greenpeace would be considered as a friend of the environment).
2. Technology price: (Technology price was free).
Finally, positive and negative consequences are
possible especially when an organization adopts an innovation. Also we must
note that diffusion is difficult to measure and to quantify what exactly causes
the adoption of an innovation.
Q5. What is the ethical way of behavior for North American
manufacturers? Base your answers on nominal ethical theories discussed in the course.
Based on the nominal ethical theories, I believe that there
are several ways of behavior related to North American manufacturers:
1. Egoism and Utilitarianism: If the North American
manufacturers are only out there to generate profits, they should re-orient
their strategies and create a utilitarian approach of thinking by using environmentally friendly technology.
2. Ethics of Duties: Based on this theory, companies can
greenwash by being proud of announcing their environmentally friendly approach.
