U.S. businesses have been facing a labor shortage, and they can ill afford a new burden that threatens every employee of child-bearing age with significant consequences to their health, financial situation and career prospects. Nevertheless, the U.S. Supreme Court has rendered its final opinion on the Dobbs abortion rights case. In effect, they decided that pregnancy management is the business of the state, not the pregnant person. The economic impacts of that decision are only just beginning to unfold, but already it is clear that business leaders need to step beyond the offer of travel expenses for out-of-state abortion care.

<h2>Free travel was never enough</h2>

When Texas imposed a <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/texas-abortion-law-hr/728066" target="_blank">draconian system of community-based policing</a> on pregnant people last year, several leading corporations sought a workaround by offering <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/salesforce-texas-abortion-law/728386" target="_blank">free airfare and other expenses</a> for employees to travel from Texas to other states, where people are still free to manage their own pregnancies.

Putting up cash for an employee in pursuit of a safe, legal abortion is a strong public statement. It is a definitive assertion that the right to terminate a pregnancy has significant economic value to a company, and that is a good start.

Editor's note: Be sure to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/category/brands-taking-stands/59911" target="_blank">subscribe</a> to our Brands Taking Stands newsletter, which comes out every Wednesday.

The benefits of free travel, though, are limited. They are generally reserved for full-time employees. Even if free travel becomes widespread corporate practice, millions of part-time employees, contractors, gig workers, the self-employed and those not working at all are left to fend for themselves.

The exclusion of large swaths of the population is not the only problem with the “all expenses paid” solution. It depends entirely on the will of voters and legislators in pregnancy-rights states. That could turn on a dime with every election.

The travel solution also ignores the fact that Republican legislators in Congress have already turned their attention to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/24/politics/republican-reaction-abortion-congress/index.html" target="_blank">a national ban</a> on abortions. The right to contraceptives is also <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/birth-control-restrictions-may-follow-abortion-bans-roe-rcna35289" target="_blank">up for grabs</a>.

Instead of focusing exclusively on cash for interstate travel, U.S. business leaders need to turn their attention to concrete action steps that protect the public at large, not just their own employees.

<h2>Money talks</h2>

It’s been said before and it’s worth repeating: Business leaders who profess to take DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) principles seriously need to cut the money pipeline to legislators, policy makers, political organizations and activist groups that fail to recognize the basic human rights of pregnant people.

Corporate dollars have already done enough damage. They helped set the stage for the 2020 election of former President Donald Trump, who installed three new Supreme Court Justices <a href="https://www.npr.org/transcripts/1106363363" target="_blank">vetted and approved</a> by the far-right anti-abortion organization The Federalist Society, effectively cementing the 6-3 majority that rendered the Dobbs decision.

Corporate dollars will not undo the damage overnight, but corporate support for pregnancy-rights legislators at the national and state level could make all the difference in preserving abortion access.

<h2>Stop gaslighting employees on pregnancy rights</h2>

A generation of anti-abortion sloganeering has cleaved the issue of abortion rights into two supposedly equal and opposite sides: for babies, and against babies. 

That is a gaslighting trap, and employers need to call it out instead of trying to accommodate employees with “deeply held beliefs” or “passionate feelings” about the beginning of human life.

Kathryn Rubino of the popular legal blog Above the Law recently exposed <a href="https://abovethelaw.com/2022/06/abortion-rights-are-about-to-be-destroyed-so-biglaw-firm-piles-on-the-bullsht/" target="_blank">the hollowness of the “both sides” argument</a> when she criticized Chairman Robert S. Insolia and Managing Partner Mark T. Bettencourt of the top law firm Goodwin Procter for an employee memo regarding a leaked draft of the Dobbs decision. The memo was an appeal for mutual respect and courtesy.

“This decision…will be deeply disappointing to some members of of [sic] community and welcome news to others,” the memo read in part.

“No matter how strongly we may feel at the moment, we should remind ourselves that we strive to build a firm where everyone feels they belong, regardless of political, religious and other beliefs and practices,” they continued.

As may be expected, Rubino reported an outburst of employee criticism over the memo. There is no equal argument for “both sides” when one side seeks to reduce the other to a state- and community-policed vessel for procreation by any passing stranger.

“Seriously, Rob and Mark, this isn’t some academic exercise where reasonable minds can agree to disagree. It’s the denial of a fundamental right and destroying access to (and potentially criminalizing) a life-saving medical procedure. But sure guys, let’s be way more concerned about whether conversation at the water cooler remains cordial,” Rubino wrote.

<h2>Start educating employees on pregnancy rights</h2>

If that language of the Goodwin Procter memo sounds familiar, it echoes the <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/zuckerberg-peter-thiel-brings-diversity-facebook-board/56736" target="_blank">“different thinking” argument</a> promoted by Mark Zuckerberg during former President Trump’s 2020 campaign. SpaceX CEO Gywnne Shotwell also recently echoed the idea that <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/employee-activists-spacex/747791" target="_blank">intolerance deserves the same respect</a> as tolerance.

In contrast, Dick’s Sporting Goods President and CEO Lauren Hobart made it clear that <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6946126055220936705/" target="_blank">a line must be drawn between feelings and rights</a> where pregnancy management is involved – and that one is more important than the other.

“We recognize people feel passionately about this topic…However, we also recognize that decisions involving health and families are deeply personal and made with thoughtful consideration,” she wrote in a brief public memo on LinkedIn.

Hobart does not permit a narrow focus on employee “feelings” to vaporize legitimate issues of human rights and civic welfare.  She frames it as a matter of ensuring that all employees have equal access to the benefits provided by Dick’s, regardless of their state of residence.

Corporations don’t need to tell anyone how to feel. But they do need to separate one’s feelings from another’s rights. That requires a new feature in employee education, and many companies already have the tools at hand through their years of experience in diversity training as well as health and wellness programs.

<h2>Support abortion rights for all, wherever they remain</h2>

Companies that tout their out-of-state travel benefits also need to recognize their responsibility to prevent the erosion of pregnancy rights in other states. One such effort is expressed in the “<a href="https://www.gov.ca.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Multi-State-Commitment-to-Reproductive-Freedom_Final-1.pdf" target="_blank">Multi-State Commitment to Reproductive Freedom</a>” pact announced by the governors of California, Oregon and Washington. 

Media attention has focused on assistance for out-of-state travelers seeking abortions, but the pact also covers a cascade of legal crises provoked by the Dobbs decision, including the emerging issue of <a href="https://www.discovermagazine.com/technology/companies-collect-intimate-menstruation-data-from-millions-of-people-and" target="_blank">data collection on people of menstrual age</a>.

<h2>Support the lawyers</h2>

Companies that support abortion rights can also engage with the legal community. Earlier this month, for example, more than 20 leading U.S. law firms combined resources to form the Legal Alliance for Reproductive Rights, to provide free legal services to those affected by state-based restrictions. 
  
That effort is not limited to the 26 states that already restrict abortion access or plan to do so. Legal stakeholders in pregnancy-rights states are preparing for a surge in out-of-state travelers who risk legal repercussions back home.

As part of the LARR effort, last week the <a href="https://www.sfbar.org/about-us/newsroom/06242022-basf-statement-on-roe-v-wade-decision/" target="_blank">Bar Association of San Francisco</a> launched a first-of-its-kind collaboration with City Attorney David Chiu. 

In addition to providing free legal services to those in need, the new collaboration plans to coordinate with other LARR members and stakeholders and will provide guidance for businesses seeking to protect their employees.

<h2>Know the consequences of inaction</h2>

Business leaders have been quiet on the topic of pregnancy rights over the years. That’s not difficult to understand, given the emotional fever raised by anti-abortion activists. However, it was and is a mistake.

Silence provided an opportunity for anti-abortion activists to raise their feelings about abortion to a sacrosanct level, much in the way that pro-gun activists have elevated the Second Amendment to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/corporate-action-gun-violence/745956" target="_blank">an untouchable, immutable right</a>. 

Business leaders need to break the abortion taboo and publicly defend the right to self-determination for every person with pregnancy in their present or future. It’s a matter of economic survival as well as human rights.

The <a href="https://www.asbnetwork.org/media-release/statement-american-sustainable-business-network-supreme-court-decision-overturn-roe-v" target="_blank">American Sustainable Business Network</a> outlined the business case for abortion rights last week, stating that “The right to unrestricted healthcare options, including reproductive healthcare is fundamental to a healthy, vibrant, and inclusive economy.”

It’s not a matter of who feels what. It’s a matter of civil rights, human rights, and ultimately who gets to participate in American democracy — and in the American workforce — on a free and equal basis.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/FmaOo3ISIME" target="_blank">Sarah Penney</a> via Unsplash

In Midst of Labor Shortage, Abortion Time Bomb Drops on U.S. Businesses

You might be familiar with the ongoing COP (Conference of Parties) talks that have long striven to reach global consensus on climate change goals, from the landmark Paris Agreement in 2015 to last year’s meeting in <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/cop26-agreement-outlook/731471" target="_blank">Glasgow</a> — and set to continue this year in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt. But among the various “COPS” run by different segments with in the hydra otherwise known as the UN, there’s a separate series of talks underway led by the UN’s Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD), with its own <a href="https://www.unep.org/events/conference/un-biodiversity-conference-cop-15" target="_blank">COP-15</a> talks scheduled for Montreal this fall. Its overarching goal, <a href="https://www.un.org/sustainabledevelopment/blog/2021/07/a-new-global-framework-for-managing-nature-through-2030-1st-detailed-draft-agreement-debuts/" target="_blank">among many</a>: a global “30X30” pact that would ensure that at least 30 percent of the world’s land and sea area important for biodiversity are protected by 2030.

For supporters of such a biodiversity framework, this is about more than forest conservation, environmental remediation and the prevention of another mass extinction — such talks are also crucial for the survival of many nations’ Indigenous populations, a group of people who have long been ignored and even <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/clean-energy-indigenous/743811" target="_blank">shafted</a> by the global business community, alongside <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/indigenous-peoples-climate-action/729586" target="_blank">many international agreements</a> inked over the years.

Preliminary talks wrapped up over the weekend in Nairobi, Kenya, and negotiators <a href="https://www.cbd.int/doc/press/2022/pr-2022-06-26-wg20204-en.pdf" target="_blank">congratulated themselves</a> for their work to “converge towards consensus,” which from their perspective, resulted in the success of participating governments’ push of an “advance text of [a] landmark global agreement” that would “bend the curve” on biodiversity protection.

A curious thing happened, or didn’t happen, over the past several days in Nairobi. If there were a bending of the curve on biodiversity, it was no “Bend It Like Beckham” and more like the meek flick of a golf ball. The aforementioned press release made no mention of a 30 percent biodiversity conservation goal by 2030. Negotiators said they discussed the protection of biodiversity at all levels, but again, there is still no concrete goal.

(A side note about UN COP talks: They work a lot like the entertainment industry’s awards season — just as there is a long string of awards events and film festivals in cities like Toronto, New York and London before the finale known as Oscars night in Los Angeles, UN COP meetings require preliminary meetings worldwide before the actual main event in the chosen host city.)

And not to mock the UN’s ongoing love affair of acronyms, but it is only appropriate that these talks occur under the framework of the UN’s “CBD,” as anyone who is passionate about biodiversity loss and its implications will want to apply and ingest copious amounts of the real CBD, as at least two major environmental nonprofits didn’t mince words when it came time for them to assess what happened with the preliminary COP15 biodiversity talks.

In politer terms, the nonprofits' leaders explained that Mother Nature got a sense of how the talks went, and she’s really pissed.

“While we appreciate the long hours and hard work of delegates, we cannot sleepwalk into the largest extinction crisis seen in centuries; one we cannot easily reverse without bold and significant system change,” <a href="https://www.nature.org/en-us/newsroom/cbd-cop-shameful-progress-for-nature/?en_txn1=s_two.gc.x.x.&amp;sf166655924=1" target="_blank">said</a> The Nature Conservancy’s (TNC) Linda Krueger. “Let’s not forget that words only count when they stop trees being cut down, soils depleted, ensure that people and their rights are respected, and we can guarantee clean air, water, land, species and ocean conservation. We’ve been kicking the biodiversity ball for too long and this process is going off the rails.”

TNC is particularly miffed that the Nairobi talks resulted in no significant discussion of that 30 percent biodiversity figure.

While TNC summed up this latest round of biodiversity talks as a “shameful lack of progress,” WWF, while a little more <a href="https://wwf.panda.org/wwf_news/press_releases/?5928466/WWF-Dire-lack-of-leadership-and-blockers-in-UN-biodiversity-talks-make-risk-of-failure-at-COP15-real" target="_blank">muted</a> in its criticism, didn’t exactly offer the UN heaps of praise, either. In fact, WWF called out UN/CBD for the lack of any leadership.

“A target of halving the footprint of production and consumption by 2030 is essential, but is being held hostage by a small number of blockers more interested in defending short-term vested interests,” concluded WWF’s Lin Li.

Marco Lambertini, WWF’s director general, also wasn’t having it, adding, “In the face of catastrophic nature loss and the tragic consequences this is having on humanity, countries are failing to show the necessary urgency — it’s been groundhog day in Nairobi, with all the crucial decisions again kicked down the road.”

Less than five months remain if the 30X30 framework is to be etched on paper: The formal talks in Montreal begin on December 5.

Image credit: Leon Kaye

UN Punts on ‘30x30’ Plan for Biodiversity

Whispers of a looming recession are growing into a full-throated roar. When an august institution like the World Bank resurrects the word “<a href="https://fortune.com/2022/06/07/world-bank-global-recession-inflation-stagflation/" target="_blank">stagflation</a>,” leaders in all sectors are bound to worry. Will our organizations be able to cope with reduced revenue, higher costs and more reluctant customers?  

Adapting to the new economic reality will mean learning new ways to engage with customers, and doing so more efficiently, more responsibly and in ways that build trust. For nonprofits, this is familiar territory. In fact, nonprofits can teach for-profit organizations a thing or two about digital transformation in the face of severe resource constraints. 

A <a href="https://twilio.org/sonder-2022/" target="_blank">recent study by Twilio</a> included the surprising finding that nonprofits are ahead of for-profits in digital engagement. For nonprofits, 64 percent of the engagement with participants in their programs is digital, compared with 57 percent of customer engagement for for-profit companies. 

Nonprofits are meeting their communities, their users and their “customers” (the people they serve) where they want to be met: Through digital channels including text, WhatsApp, voice and web chat. They are tackling massive problems head-on, despite constrained resources, and they are realizing increased efficiency and impact as a result.

All industry sectors, for-profit and nonprofit alike, have challenges engaging their customer base, but nonprofits are actually outstripping their for-profit counterparts at being digitally connected with their audience. Despite the misconception that nonprofits are innovation laggards, many are remarkably far along the path of digital transformation.

<h2>Leaning into digital engagement — like tech giants </h2>

It starts with digital engagement. For consumers (and their equivalent in the nonprofit world: the people nonprofit programs serve), expectations are higher than ever, thanks to the multichannel, always-on, highly responsive model set by tech giants like Amazon, Google and the like.

It’s a common misconception that the people who utilize services provided by nonprofits need low-tech channels. In fact, these services — such as crisis lines, resource navigation, emotional support, medical advocacy and so forth — are often utilized by people whose primary means of communication is a mobile phone. Offering the option to connect via a chat app or text message instead of a desktop-centric website or even an in-person visit can help nonprofits reach more people, improving and even saving lives.

What’s more, these organizations clearly understand that their “consumers” — program participants — expect to be able to interact with them the same way they do with big commercial brands, through a variety of digital channels.

This understanding has pushed many nonprofits toward a more sophisticated embrace of digital engagement technologies, such as text chat apps, web chat and more. Engaging with program participants digitally is critical to achieving nonprofits’ missions, according to 89 percent of the organizations that responded to the Twilio survey.

For example, <a href="https://nami.org/Home" target="_blank">NAMI</a>, a grassroots mental health advocacy organization, is using digital technologies to provide life-saving services like crisis intervention, emotional support and access to resources. NAMI increased the number of help seekers it reached by over 75 percent, without sacrificing the quality of care, by adding digital channels including web chat, voice and email. It also scaled up its call center by building a remote-first infrastructure that draws on a national volunteer base, allowing it to answer 67 percent more calls from people in crisis during 2021 than the previous year. These services are helping NAMI bring resources and support to people across the US who are experiencing or living with a mental health condition.

For-profit organizations need to follow suit: Engage customers wherever they are, through whatever digital channels they prefer.

<h2>Seize opportunities to overcome innovation challenges</h2>

The striking thing is that many nonprofits are able to be technically innovative even when they are faced with severe resource constraints. The lean budgets of most nonprofits will come as no surprise to most people, but for technical innovation, the challenge is even greater. That’s because grant-making organizations don’t typically like to fund software development, which is usually categorized as an overhead expense. Funders prefer to see their dollars going to “direct” means of accomplishing a nonprofit’s mission, without seeing that software can actually have a very direct impact. As a result, many nonprofits have smaller development teams (or zero developers) — and hiring developers is an especially big challenge in a competitive labor market.

Faced with the lack of resources and reluctant funders, many nonprofits are simply refusing to take “no” for an answer. According to the Twilio survey, two-thirds of nonprofit leaders plan to hire software developers this year, and they are using their budgets to address technical shortfalls whenever and wherever they can.

For-profit organizations should take a similar approach and prioritize hiring software developers.

Moments of crisis can provide the impetus to get technical innovations done, if the organization has an agile mindset and is ready to move quickly. For example, earlier this year, the <a href="https://www.nrc.no/" target="_blank">Norwegian Refugee Counci</a>l, an international humanitarian aid organization with the mission to protect displaced people and support them as they build a new future, wanted to help refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. Cash vouchers are one of the most useful forms of support for people in crisis, especially in conflict zones where it’s critical to get resources directly into the hands of those in need quickly, and let them decide how and where to use it. Managing requests for help and wiring money to people who don’t have access to a bank account or a permanent address are two major challenges, so NRC built an automated system to triage requests and make payment transfers using WhatsApp and MoneyGram. In less than 30 days NRC built a solution that is able to provide up to $50 million in aid to 650,000 Ukrainian refugees. 

<h2>Invest in efficiency — and measure it</h2>

For all organizations working with severe budget constraints, efficiency in spending both money and time is critical. For digital projects, that means using technologies that deliver impact in the most effective way. But it also means capturing data so that efficiency can be tracked and improved. 

While nonprofits may not have the same return on investment calculations as for-profit organizations, there is still a wealth of data to be gleaned from digital engagement technologies that can inform future decision making. Again, nonprofits have lessons to impart here.

For for-profit and nonprofit organizations, capturing data and analyzing it is critical to both measuring efficiency gains but also to surfacing insights that can lead to better service. For example, <a href="https://www.thetrevorproject.org/" target="_blank">The Trevor Project</a>, which has provided crisis support for LGBTQ youth for over 20 years, via phone, text and chat, was able to use machine learning tools to flag text messages as high priority based on the content of the text. The organization can also analyze chat logs, in aggregate, to help counselors develop better strategies for helping youth in crisis.

Sometimes efficiency also means serving people faster. The Trevor Project’s text support line, TrevorText, is particularly important, because it allows young people to communicate quickly and discreetly, using a form of communication they’re comfortable with. But the organization was using a legacy SMS text solution that introduced a 10-second delay before counselors could respond to an incoming chat. By switching to a more advanced chat platform and eliminating that delay, The Trevor Project was able to save an average of 10 minutes per conversation, enabling it to serve 22 percent more people over a six-month period.

<h2>The takeaways</h2>

Far from being technological laggards, nonprofits have been remarkably forward-looking in their approach to digital transformation. These organizations recognize that the world has shifted and that their communities expect to be able to interact with them via digital channels. In order to meet that expectation, nonprofits are seizing opportunities — including crises — to make the digital investments they need, even when funding may not be directly available for that purpose. And focusing on data-driven efficiency improvements can help create a virtuous cycle of innovation and optimization. 

All organizations — for-profit and nonprofit alike — could benefit from taking a similarly nimble, opportunistic and data-driven approach. The benefits will include greater customer and constituent engagement, the ability to reach more people and greater impact.

Interested in having your voice heard on 3p? Contact us at <a href="mailto:editorial@3BLMedia.com?subject=guest%20article%20pitch%20for%203p">editorial@3BLMedia.com</a> and pitch your idea for a guest article to us.

Image credit: <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/woman-in-white-and-black-striped-crew-neck-shirt-holding-black-smartphone-3869370/" target="_blank">Andrea Piacquadio</a> via Pexels

What For-Profits Can Learn About Digital Engagement in a Down Economy

People have long been moving to cities for a host of reasons, mostly economic. The struggle many cities have faced, however, is that they haven’t been able to build infrastructure fast enough to keep up with population growth. Now, add the long-term risks of climate change, and many of the world’s largest cities will struggle even more to keep afloat by mid-century — literally.

A C40 Cities report <a href="https://storymaps.arcgis.com/stories/75508f9fac8c43bda366ae545fb60ec8" target="_blank">released</a> earlier this week presents a grim outlook for many of the world’s largest cities — visually and financially. At a higher level, the climate change risks are spread across four pillars: flooding, drought, healthcare and energy.

The big numbers? C40’s researchers suggest that 7 million-plus people in the largest cities will be prone to river flooding annually, costing cities a total of $64 billion annually. Add in the other costs to risks related to climate change, and that figure could approach <a href="https://www.c40.org/news/climate-related-flooding-drought-cities-billions/" target="_blank">close to $200 billion a year</a>. To describe the costs in another way, that money which will be used to repair and bolster infrastructure after future climate change events won’t be spent on other needed infrastructure investments, nor on basic needs for citizens such as healthcare and social services.

There’s no shortage of 21st-century news accounts of urban areas that have suffered from flooding: Recent years have exposed the saga through which residents of <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2017/hurricane-harvey-tests-limits-federal-flood-insurance-program/15591" target="_blank">Houston</a>, Kuala Lumpur, New Orleans, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-60197978" target="_blank">São Paulo</a> and <a href="https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/mose-venice-flood-barriers/index.html" target="_blank">Venice</a> have endured. It’s hard to wrap our heads around the amount of water that could inundate these cities by mid-century, but C40 gives it a shot. The <a href="https://www.c40.org/cities/" target="_blank">cities within the C40 network</a>, say the organization’s researchers, could experience a combined river flooding of 10.5 million cubic meters annually, or, more than four times the volume of the Great Pyramid of Giza.

But it’s not only flooding that will force city leaders to face a reckoning. For every city that has little choice but to plan for excessive flooding, there are other cities that need to prepare for extreme drought. California and its cities have been in the drought spotlight during 2022, but large cities in China, India and Latin America also have the specter of severe water shortages in the coming decades. As groundwater reserves and the capacity of dammed rivers all diminish, large cities could encounter a combined surface water loss of more than 16 billion cubic meters of water by 2050 — and if you need a visualization, C40 says that’s the equivalent of Sydney’s harbor drying up 30 times over.

The data surrounding potential flooding and drought connected to climate change conjure up images of distressed infrastructure like roads, waterways and residential areas. But these climate change risks also threaten many cities’ essential services for its citizens, such as healthcare. When looking at the C40 cities, researchers concluded that approximate 2,400 hospitals across these urban areas are at high risk of floods. Almost half of those hospitals are in India alone, a sign that the country’s future economic growth (and literally, health) could confront huge challenges. To be clear, it’s not only flooding that can shut down hospitals and other healthcare services: Severe drought can also affect hospitals’ ability to deliver services, as they require copious amounts of water to remain clean and sanitized.

The fourth pillar, energy, by this point should be a seamless one to explain. Bottom line, if there’s too much water, and especially if there’s far from enough, now we’re talking about the constant disruption of electricity services in the world’s largest cities — especially if they rely on hydropower, which is the case of Zambia’s capital, Lusaka, as well as many major Brazilian cities. 

As for what C40 actually recommends as solutions, they are, depending on one’s point of view, obvious or basic. The short answers come in all sizes, as in massive investments in infrastructure, or micro-sized solutions such as instituting behavioral changes that can nudge people to use even less water on a day-to-day basis. But in these humdrum suggestions lies a massive hint for the world’s largest companies, which rely on cities for its peoples’ talent as well as for their local infrastructure. These same companies also benefit from the investments that cities have already made, while sharing little of the cost when a major climate change-induced event such as a hurricane or prolonged drought hit. Companies will have to cope with the reality that they’ll have to open up their pocketbooks to share in this collective climate change pain; and these cities’ leaders shouldn’t expect anything less.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/6ZgTEtvD16I" target="_blank">Jonathan Ford</a> via Unsplash

Cities Are the Global Economy’s Anchors, but Climate Change Puts Them at Financial Risk

<a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/3p-weekend-10-food-companies-going-fair-trade/21731" target="_blank">We’ve been familiar</a> with fair trade products here at TriplePundit for ages, from <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2017/alter-eco-wants-make-chocolate-regenerative-not-extractive-industry/18581" target="_blank">chocolate</a> to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/honest-tea-purpose-driven-brands/747261" target="_blank">tea</a> to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2012/fair-trade-takes-over-whole-foods-produce-section/65231" target="_blank">fresh produce</a> and even the occasional <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2014/5-things-you-may-not-know-about-fair-trade-apparel/58706" target="_blank">item of clothing</a>. But when it comes to other products such as luggage or gear, fair trade sourcing is still at a very early stage. But don’t tell that to California-based <a href="https://www.peakdesign.com/pages/sustainable" target="_blank">Peak Design</a>: The company has long been designing sleek, minimalist travel gear and other accessories that can take a punch, and now the brand is committed to fair trade standards. Fair Trade USA, which <a href="https://www.fairtradecertified.org/business/producer-certification" target="_blank">certifies farms, fisheries and now factories</a>, worked with Peak Design to audit the company's Vung Tau factory in Vietnam. 3p recently caught up with Peak Design to get a handle on the brand's fair trade journey.

<h2>Fair trade: An investment in patience</h2>

As Peak Design recently explained to 3p, the company a while back ran into compliance problems within its supply chain. The answer: a shift to fair trade sourcing in order to bring the company’s manufacturing and ethics into closer alignment with its values. The result is Vung Tau, which Peak Design says is a fully fair trade-compliant factory in the eponymous city in Vietnam. Annie Nyborg, Peak Design’s sustainability director, told 3p that securing a decent living for the factory’s employees was the driving factor in partnering with Vung Tau.

“We primarily wanted a mechanism for ensuring that our factory workers were earning a living wage. Ensuring that international factory workers are getting paid appropriately can be challenging if you don't have direct oversight of a factory,” Nyborg said. “Fair trade provides a third-party option for overseeing that certain environmental and social standards are met in a factory and that the factory workers are earning the higher premium that we as a brand pay.”

For companies seeking to invest in more responsible and sustainable sourcing, the name of the game is patience — with the added challenge that there’s a good chance your company may not get it right the first time. “We have been working with the same manufacturing partner in Vietnam for over seven years. Our partner had been subcontracting out factory space to manufacture our products and because they didn't have full control over those factories, the audit findings consistently came back very bad. We attempted to support those factories and invested in capacity building to bring them up to our standards but were unsuccessful,” explained Nyborg. 

Peak Design’s journey was similar to many brands that contract with overseas factories: If your supply chain relies on subcontracting or leasing space in a factory that produces goods for other companies, there’s a very good chance that your company’s sustainability and ethics goals won’t be entirely met by that manufacturer. “Operating consistently out of factories that could not meet our environmental and social standards wasn't going to work for us,” Nyborg added, “so our Vietnam partner proposed building a brand new factory that they would manage directly and see to it that our standards were met.”

That patience paid off, as the factory’s construction was finished around three years ago. “Our partner knew our strict environmental and social standards — through our Code of Conduct and Environmental Compliance Standards — so they incorporated those standards into their physical space and operations from the get-go,” Nyborg continued. “When we engaged with Fair Trade [USA] to certify the factory, our partners were able to relatively quickly implement the few additional elements to qualify for certification.”

<h2>Benefits for factory employees</h2>

The benefits are starting to pay off, Nyborg noted. Fair Trade USA audits the factory annually, and part of that audit process is to ensure that factory employees are being treated well and fairly. The audit looks at hiring practices, overtime policies, safety conditions within the factory, compliance with worker wellbeing laws, and the proper tracking of hours worked and logged. “In addition, Peak Design pays an additional 1 percent FOB (freight on board) on all product coming from the factory,” Nyborg said. “That money goes directly into a bank account that is managed by the factory workers themselves — it never passes through factory management to ensure that workers receive the full amount.”

Workers can opt to divide the funds equally among themselves, harness them to build amenities like a childcare facility or invest in items such as bicycles. Nyborg added that after the first cycle of these fair trade premium payouts, the factory workers agreed to divide the money equally amongst themselves as a cash payout.

That extra step to pay an FOB is necessary, explained Nyborg, as some factories have encountered problems with management skimming from the funds; others have not adequately accounted for the paying hours compensated to their employees.

<h2>Building trust absolutely matters when shifting to fair trade sourcing</h2>

If it’s still not clear, investing in a fair-trade certified factory not only requires a commitment with money and time — brands must be willing to invest their trust in a manufacturing partner. “There are always a range of hurdles and certifications inevitably take time. It took us several years to achieve fair trade because we didn't have a factory space that could meet the social and environmental standards,” Nyborg told 3p. “So, it took working with and developing a strong relationship with our manufacturing partner to get to a point where they felt it warranted building a new facility.”

Those lines of communication are crucial, Nyborg said in wrapping up her chat with 3p. “We made it very clear over the course of several years that meeting environmental and social standards was a priority of ours, and that we wouldn't ultimately work with a partner that couldn't meet them. So, it made economic sense for our partners to invest in a new space.”

Peak Design’s plunge into fair trade sourcing certainly has resulted in a product line that is not only ethical, but high-performance. 3p recently tested out its <a href="https://www.peakdesign.com/collections/all-bags/products/travel-backpack?variant=11530908172332" target="_blank">45-liter travel backpack</a>, the shell of which is made from recycled plastics. Despite the pummeling it took during a couple recent road trips, the bag held its shape; the zippers never snagged; its plethora of pockets may require those who space easily to keep a spreadsheet to log what went where; the waterproof exterior is also stain-proof, based on an unfortunate run-in with a to-go coffee; and its padding made it comfortable to haul around, from shoulders to the lower back.

Image credit: Leon Kaye

The Kitchen Sink Can Literally Fit in This Backpack — and, It’s Fair Trade

The ongoing U.S. Congressional hearings have provided the American public with hard evidence about the people who organized a violent insurrection against the U.S. government on January 6, 2021. That attempt failed by the narrowest of margins, but Pride Month has now become a proving ground and recruiting tool for the next effort. More violence is all but certain to come unless corporate leaders do their own organizing, and expand their DEI efforts outwards into community action and political force.

<h2>Violence has already come for your DEI program</h2>

To the extent that leading brands and local businesses publicly support Pride Month events, the violence has already come to their doorstep.

Last week, 30 men reportedly affiliated with <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patriot-front-white-nationalists-arrested-idaho-pride-parade-riot-plan/" target="_blank">white supremacist organizations</a> attempted to infiltrate Pride festivities in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho with violent intent. An alert citizen and quick action by law enforcement thwarted their plan, but now the officers themselves have become <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/patriot-front-white-nationalists-arrested-idaho-pride-parade-riot-plan/" target="_blank">the targets of white supremacist threats</a>.

The Coeur d'Alene incident was not a one-off. White supremacists have been purposefully grooming anti-LGBTQ sentiment for more than a year, beginning with a fresh spate of state based <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/businesses-transgender-rights-texas/739146" target="_blank">anti-trans legislation</a> that followed closely on the heels of the January 6 insurrection.

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While state legislatures continue to focus hate and bigotry on vulnerable trans youth, an organized effort to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/marisadellatto/2022/04/04/unprecedented-book-ban-attempts-in-2021-many-with-lgbtq-themes-library-group-reports/?sh=3cdec0055b52" target="_blank">ban LGBTQ-themed books</a> from school and local libraries across the nation has also gotten under way. The Guardian and other media have linked the effort to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/jan/24/us-conservatives-campaign-books-ban-schools" target="_blank">high-profile conservative funders</a> including Leonard Leo of the Federalist Society, who is credited with securing the extremist conservative majority on the U.S. Supreme Court.

<h2>Mainstream media is taking notice of Pride Month violence</h2>

The <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/common-sense-gun-safety-business/747341" target="_blank">upsurge in anti-LGBTQ violence</a> has not escaped the notice of mainstream media. On June 17, Ben Collins and Doha Madani of NBC News wrote a long form article detailing the attacks. They took particular note of the attackers’ <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-news/anti-lgbtq-threats-orchestrated-on-internet-shut-down-events-rcna33955" target="_blank">focus on transgender and drag queen events</a>. Not coincidentally, some of these events routinely take place in libraries, in the form of the popular “drag queen story hour” programs.

“Inundated with threats during Pride Month, LGBTQ+ rights advocates and allies have been forced to cancel events and involve local law enforcement authorities after a group of white nationalists were arrested outside a Pride event in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho,” they wrote.

The two reporters interviewed California state Senator Scott Wiener, who observed that “there is a very orchestrated network of right-wing accounts and personalities to coordinate on whatever the current attack message is and who’s going to be targeted. And they have an army of social media trolls who amplify their messages…It’s a very orchestrated attack machine.”

“Far-right influencers and militias have been particularly focused in the last month on “Drag Queen Story Hour” events, which have been hosted at libraries throughout the U.S. since 2015,” Collins and Madani observed.

<h2>The white supremacist connection</h2>

Earlier in the month, Amanda Seitz of AP News also took note of the organized nature of <a href="https://apnews.com/article/islamic-state-group-technology-buffalo-government-and-politics-4e3dc9e6aeee05161acdc3c0e17a278b?utm_campaign=SocialFlow&amp;utm_medium=AP&amp;utm_source=Twitter" target="_blank">ginned-up social media</a> focusing on LGBTQ and other vulnerable communities. 

“White nationalists and supremacists, on accounts often run by young men, are building thriving, macho communities across social media platforms like Instagram, Telegram and TikTok, evading detection with coded hashtags and innuendo,” she wrote.

“Their snarky memes and trendy videos are riling up thousands of followers on divisive issues including abortion, guns, immigration and LGBTQ rights,” she added.

Seitz referred to a <a href="https://www.dhs.gov/ntas/advisory/national-terrorism-advisory-system-bulletin-june-7-2022" target="_blank">Department of Homeland Security warning</a> posted on June 7, in which the agency assessed that emotional overload and entitlement are in play.

“Threat actors have recently mobilized to violence due to factors such as personal grievances, reactions to current events, and adherence to violent extremist ideologies, including racially or ethnically motivated or anti-government/anti-authority violent extremism,” DHS warned.

<h2>Don’t just stand there: do something</h2>

Historians and political observers have long warned that the raw emotions and personal entitlement are effective weapons in the hands of power-hungry authoritarians. They have raised serious concerns that the rise in white supremacist violence, and the willingness of Republican office holders to dismiss or outright support violence, are already leading to <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2022/06/17/trump-revelations-jan-6-hearings-violent-future/" target="_blank">long-term political instability</a> including the risk of street violence, assassination, bombings and other hallmarks of a collapse in the principles of democratic representation and compromise.

If you’re still having trouble taking any of this seriously, consider that the seeds of a <a href="https://www.dailydot.com/debug/food-processing-plant-fires-conspiracy/" target="_blank">false flag conspiracy theory involving the nation’s food supply</a> have already blossomed into full effect, thanks to Fox and other right-wing echo chambers.

It doesn’t have to happen. Pride Month has provided white supremacist organizations with opportunities to grow their movement, but it also provides business leaders with a solid platform for pushing back against right-wing hysteria. Top brands and local businesses alike can and should ramp up their Pride activities and mobilize their employees, clients, customers and communities to rally in support of their local Pride Month events.

Business leaders can also ramp up their support for established human rights organizations, and they can seek opportunities to support new local and grassroots efforts that push back against book bans and other white supremacist activities.

Above all — once and for all — business leaders have to stop providing financial support for Republican candidates and office holders. They have to stop treating the Republican and Democratic parties as two sides of the same politics-as-usual coin. The Republican Party has been hijacked to serve the purposes of authoritarian rulers who seek to attain and hold power regardless of the rules and principles of democratic government, and they have already assembled an army of violent thugs to serve their purpose.

Business leaders can either sit back and let the violence continue to unspool, or they can do something about it. There is no in between, any more.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/Fb1njPbUKAs" target="_blank">Colin Lloyd</a> via Unsplash

Red Alert for Corporate DEI Programs: Pride Month Attacks Continue What Insurrectionists Started

Being told to watch a rom-com in order to understand what’s going on with diversity in the workplace probably wasn’t on your employee engagement bingo card. But if you want a snapshot of what your employees might actually be thinking about what’s going on in the office, virtual or otherwise, then watch Fire Island, released earlier this month on Hulu. 
  
Epic comedian Joel Kim Booster wrote the screenplay and stars in the film. It’s another movie based on, yes, the plot driving Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, only the property in question is in danger of being sold or even foreclosed, not entailed as there is no male heir; unlike Austen’s Hertfordshire, there’s no St. Albans Abbey, but there is an Ice Palace; and instead of balls at which polite society waltzes in poofy outfits and tut-tuts over status, there are tea dances where the tut-tutting is over six-pack abs and who does or doesn’t belong. 
  
So why stream this film, which also stars SNL’s Bowen Yang? The heartache and resentments mixed in with plenty of light and hilarious moments really aren’t all that different from what might be going on at your organization: It’s just that there’s a very good chance your workplace has much fewer light and hilarious moments. Caution: If you haven’t streamed the movie, there are some spoilers to come.

<h2>Elizabeth Bennet, meet Joel Kim Booster</h2>

Let’s start with Booster’s Noah (Austen’s Elizabeth Bennet), who’s smart and usually nails it when it comes to observing what’s going around him. But his harsh comments often get in the way, and if he worked for a company, his HR file would probably be thicker than his employer's code of ethics.

<h2>Howie as second-fiddle Jane Bennet</h2>

Then there’s Yang’s Howie (Austen’s Jane Bennet, Elizabeth’s sister), who’s far more low-key than Noah, and is probably a more reliable and dedicated employee, only that he feels so beaten down for being overlooked for his accomplishments (and, sadly, for what he perceives as his looks).

Like Austen’s Bennet sisters, Noah and Howie are close, only with one twist: The first, obviously, is that they are both Asian American, and the bond started to form when they worked together years earlier at bougie Sunday brunches, where they served bottomless mimosas to entitled and racist white patrons. Yes, now you’re starting to get it: You’ve got employees that haven’t been told as such explicitly, but they’re being typecast, constantly expected to act a certain way due to their background, but the rewards and recognition aren’t coming their way.

<h2>Now, the sparks are flying: Will vs. Noah is Elizabeth vs. Darcy</h2>

Added into the mix is Conrad Ricamora’s Will (Austen’s Fitzwilliam Darcy), both of whom are successful (well, one was born into wealth, the other earned it through hard work). In the case of the uptight Will, he’s not too keen on Noah, and for fans of Austen and the movies she inspired, here’s where it gets fun. 
  
Just as Darcy describes Elizabeth with the backhanded, “She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me; and I am in no humor at present to give consequence to young ladies who are slighted by other men,” Will’s first impression of Noah is summed up with a biting comment that Booster’s character is “not hot enough to be that annoying.” 
  
But just like the protagonists in Austen’s classic, as Darcy and Elizabeth slowly become closer, so, too, do Noah and Will, as they realize the assumptions they had made about each other after meeting for the first time were way off-base.

<h2>Fire Island may give you a clue as to what your employees really think about the company</h2>

Fine, call this out for being a stretch, but if they worked within a U.S.-based company, Will could be the company’s chief sustainability officer with Noah running diversity programs: And both are tired about the company’s proclamations about ESG performance while, in truth, hiring people of color has stalled, while emissions are more the result of masterfully cooking the carbon accounting books instead of meaningful GHG reductions.

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As for matchy-matching Booster's characters to Austen's, we're almost done — just watch the film and have fun figuring out everyone else. 
But, we have to mention Dex, the hot guy (among many in the movie, self-assumed or otherwise) in Fire Island who wins some sympathy at first, but like Austen’s George Wickham, this fellow has a long history of nefarious behavior. It turns out that the problem with Dex isn’t his OnlyFans account, but that he exploits guys — and is about as morally bankrupt as Wickham, who had a long history of scamming people out of their money. Dex is like the C-suite "bro" executive who Noah and Will would come to despise, as in Dex’s case, the problem isn’t that he uses the company’s digital assets to waste time buying Tom Brady swag on eBay; instead, he mouths off about women, guys who don’t look like him and climate science: And all the while, he’s the company’s public-facing figure touting all of its good work on ESG and DEI. 
  
Dust off that old paperback version of Pride and Prejudice, fire up Hulu on your Fire TV, and we’ll leave the rest going down the rabbit hole of “who would be who at my company” to you. Bottom line: If you’re not seeing the facial expressions and signs of exasperation of the characters of Fire Island in how your own employees interact with you and each other, there’s a good chance you’re not paying attention. 
  Sidebar: As for Fire Island — as in the real place, which was where much of this movie was actually filmed — well, here’s your climate change reminder: There’s a good chance that rising sea levels could put the popular resort area under water <a href="https://www.nationalparkstraveler.org/2021/12/climate-change-and-popularity-dual-threats-fire-island-national-seashore" target="_blank">in 50 to 60 years</a>. 
  Image credit: Hulu <a href="https://press.hulu.com/shows/fire-island/" target="_blank">pressroom</a>

How Hulu’s Fire Island Offers a Jane Austen and Queer Take on DEI

The tide is turning on how Americans view responsibility for plastic pollution. This year’s updated <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/publications/public-opinion-surrounding-plastic-consumption-and-waste-management-of-consumer-packaging-2022-update" target="_blank">survey on plastic waste and consumption</a> from WWF found that more than 50 percent of consumers want businesses to be held accountable for how they reduce and recycle that waste. This shift in attitudes toward prioritizing the role of plastic producers in pollution should finally signal to policymakers that this is a problem that needs to be tackled at its source. 

There’s a reason the phrase goes reduce first, reuse second and recycle last. Yet, by putting the onus on the consumer instead of the producer, the first two have been all but forgotten in favor of a largely<a href="https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/" target="_blank"> ineffective market-based recycling system</a>. Until recent shifts in consumer sentiments, manufacturers have had little motivation to reduce plastic production, especially packaging. And why should they? Packaging can act as advertising — the bigger and more colorful it is the more attention it can draw away from competitors on the same shelf — and as a <a href="https://www.packworld.com/machinery/primary-packaging/news/13342661/highvisibility-theftprevention-packaging-a-lovehate-relationship" target="_blank">theft deterrent</a>, such as with clamshells.

So not only does recycling after the fact instead of reducing at the source make no logical sense, but successful recycling is dependent on a whole range of factors. Consumers have to care enough not only to recycle but to educate themselves about how to do so correctly. Contamination from unwashed food containers leads to whole batches of recyclables being thrown out. "<a href="https://www.greenbiz.com/article/what-wishcycling-two-waste-experts-explain" target="_blank">Wishcycling</a>" items that are not actually recyclable can wreak havoc on sorting machines, require extra labor to resolve and add to more contamination in the system.

There also has to be a market for all of those recyclables — somewhere for them to go after they are collected. The U.S. lacks an internal recycling infrastructure that can handle the sheer volume produced, which historically meant selling our recycling to China. Except that doesn’t mean the materials were all recycled even after reaching the other side of the ocean. <a href="https://news.climate.columbia.edu/2020/03/13/fix-recycling-america/" target="_blank">Thirty percent</a> of all recyclables (not just plastics) sold to China were contaminated and unable to be processed, effectively exporting U.S. waste and pollution to the Chinese landscapes and seascapes. The logistics of that all changed in 2018 when China switched up its standards and was no longer willing to accept most plastic. The U.S. tried to send its waste to other Asian countries, including Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia after that. However, those nations’ governments quickly instituted bans of their own after communities were inundated.

Still, the U.S. continues to ship off over a million metric tons of plastic each year. So, where does it go now? Cambodia, Ethiopia and Senegal are a few examples of countries that are being overwhelmed by the deluge, of which it is estimated that <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/jun/17/recycled-plastic-america-global-crisis" target="_blank">20 to 70 percent</a> is actually trash. Once the plastic is overseas much of it is burned or ends up in a landfill, whether it is actually recyclable or not. The environmental and health costs of this are not only staggering but point to our present system of curbside recycling as more feel-good for American consumers than it is effective. 

In its State of the Planet report from 2020, Columbia University quoted Stephanie Kersten-Johnston, an adjunct professor at their Sustainability Management Master’s Program, as saying: “It will only ever make economic sense to recycle a small subset of materials, which means we will have to look beyond recycling alone to solve for our broader waste. We need to tap into new business models that allow us to reduce our consumption in the first place, and re-use materials where we can.”

With only <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2022/04/22/plastics-recycling-united-states-earth-day/7234651001/?gnt-cfr=1" target="_blank">9 percent</a> of plastic produced ever having been recycled, it’s obvious that we are approaching the problem from the wrong direction. Policymakers must deal with the overwhelming amount of plastic being made at the source by encouraging a huge reduction in production and a transition to reusable containers and products. It is time for producers to take heed of shifting consumer opinions and not only reduce the amount of waste they produce but look towards making as much packaging as possible <a href="https://www.worldwildlife.org/publications/wwf-policy-guidance-circular-economy-for-packaging-in-the-united-states" target="_blank">reusable</a>. This creates an opportunity for new ways of doing business, including <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/home/refill-shops-make-reducing-plastic-use-easier/2021/06/07/28a714c2-c2fe-11eb-8c18-fd53a628b992_story.html" target="_blank">refill shops</a> and <a href="https://www.barandrestaurant.com/operations/reusable-containers-future-takeout" target="_blank">returnable container programs</a> — the latter of which are viewed favorably by 50 percent of survey respondents. The fact that only 20 percent viewed them negatively, begs the question: why aren’t more widespread programs already in the works?

Image credit: <a href="https://www.pexels.com/photo/set-of-various-glass-bottles-in-containers-placed-on-ground-on-street-4917492/">A DLT</a> via Pexels

Consumers Are Ready to Get Reduce, Reuse and Recycle Right 

The green hydrogen trend has been sparking interest among leading oil and gas stakeholders for the past couple of years, and now it looks like the floodgates are open. The baby-step phase is coming to an end. Serious money is in play, at a scale needed to hasten the transition to a more sustainable low-carbon future.

<h2>Spotlight on green hydrogen</h2>

Bloomberg covered the latest green hydrogen news earlier this week. Under the headline, “Big Oil Bets That Green Hydrogen Is the Future of Energy,” reporters Will Mathis, Laura Hurst and Francois De Beaupuy noted that “major oil companies are finally <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-06-19/big-oil-bets-that-green-hydrogen-is-the-future-of-energy" target="_blank">planning the kind of large-scale investments</a> that would make green hydrogen a serious business.” 

“They’re chasing a very particular vision of a low-carbon future — multibillion dollar developments that generate vast concentrations of renewable electricity and convert it into chemicals or clean fuels that can be shipped around the world to power trucks, ships or even airplanes,” they added.

To be clear, it is important to distinguish green hydrogen from other terms.

Most of the activity in the green hydrogen area involves <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/green-hydrogen-dream/709216" target="_blank">deploying wind and solar power</a> to generate electricity for electrolysis systems, which <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2018/natural-gas-stumbles-hydrogen-picks-clean-fuel-flag/10801" target="_blank">push hydrogen gas from water</a>.

Biomass, biogas and organic-rich wastewater are other emerging renewable resources for green hydrogen. 

Harvesting hydrogen from recovered, synthetic resources, such as industrial waste gas or recycled plastic is another emerging area. It does not fit the consensus on “green,” as a term applied to renewable resources. However, recovered resources can be a more sustainable alternative to the conventional means of producing hydrogen, which has long relied on virgin natural gas and, to a lesser extent, coal.

<h2>What’s the matter with “clean” hydrogen?</h2>

In contrast to the burst of activity around green hydrogen, fossil energy stakeholders have struggled to make “clean” hydrogen happen.

“Clean” hydrogen generally refers to <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/pennsylvania-places-bet-gas-powered-hydrogen-not-green-hydrogen/745041" target="_blank">natural gas paired with carbon capture systems</a>. That approach may have passed muster years ago, but it is out of step with the demands of the 21st-century supply chain. 

Hydrogen is widely used throughout the global economy, in agriculture, toiletries and pharmaceuticals as well as manufacturing. Fresh demands are being placed on the hydrogen supply by the transportation sector, as the <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/ev-hydrogen-fuel-cells/732111" target="_blank">fuel cell industry grows</a> alongside interest in hydrogen and ammonia fuels.

Leading brands and other manufacturers are <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/5-green-hydrogen-developments/743821" target="_blank">scrambling to decarbonize themselves</a> upstream as well as downstream. Steelmakers, for example, are beginning to invest in green hydrogen systems because auto makers are beginning to demand “green” steel, in accord with the growing consumer demand for low-carbon products.

The global supply of green hydrogen is minuscule now, and costs are high relative to conventional hydrogen from fossil sources. However, as economies of scale kick in for green hydrogen, and the supply increases, the appeal of fossil sources — and their <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2015/make-three-black-eyes-natural-gas-fracking/33046" target="_blank">heavy environmental baggage</a> — fades away.

<h2>The U.S. could be a green hydrogen leader</h2>

Much of the shovels-in-the-ground activity is taking place overseas, but the U.S. is poised to catch up and become a green hydrogen leader in the global marketplace.

“Owing to its large refining and chemical sectors, the United States is already one of the largest producers and consumers of hydrogen,” the International Energy Agency <a href="https://www.iea.org/reports/the-future-of-hydrogen" target="_blank">pointed out</a> in a recent overview of the global hydrogen market. 

The IEA also noted that, due to its sprawling network of pipelines and other infrastructure, the U.S. has a running start on the green hydrogen trend, compared to parts of the world where renewable resources are abundant, but transportation infrastructure is lacking.

Proposals for the creation of green hydrogen “hubs” have been emerging in a number of U.S. states in recent months, from California and Texas to an ambitious tri-state initiative launched by Connecticut, New York and New Jersey.

Another leading example in the U.S. is the “ACES” <a href="https://aces-delta.com/" target="_blank">Advanced Clean Energy Storage</a> project in Utah, which leverages an unusual underground formation for bulk <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/new-energy-storage-caucus/726481" target="_blank">green H2 storage</a>.

As one sign of growing momentum for the green hydrogen movement in the U.S., last April the Department of Energy (DOE) revived its long-dormant Loan Programs Office to issue a loan guarantee of $504.4 million for ACES, citing its massive scale and innovative use of electrolysis.

“Advanced Clean Energy Storage will <a href="http://The green hydrogen trend has been sparking interest among leading oil and gas stakeholders for the past couple of years, and now it looks like the floodgates are open. The baby-step phase is coming to an end. Serious money is in play, at a scale needed to hasten the transition to a more sustainable low-carbon future. Spotlight on green hydrogen Bloomberg covered the latest green hydrogen news earlier this week. Under the headline, “Big Oil Bets That Green Hydrogen Is the Future of Energy,” reporters Will Mathis, Laura Hurst and Francois De Beaupuy noted that “major oil companies are finally planning the kind of large-scale investments that would make green hydrogen a serious business.” “They’re chasing a very particular vision of a low-carbon future — multibillion dollar developments that generate vast concentrations of renewable electricity and convert it into chemicals or clean fuels that can be shipped around the world to power trucks, ships or even airplanes,” they added. To be clear, it is important to distinguish green hydrogen from other terms. Most of the activity in the green hydrogen area involves deploying wind and solar power to generate electricity for electrolysis systems, which push hydrogen gas from water. Biomass, biogas and organic-rich wastewater are other emerging renewable resources for green hydrogen. Harvesting hydrogen from recovered, synthetic resources, such as industrial waste gas or recycled plastic is another emerging area. It does not fit the consensus on “green,” as a term applied to renewable resources. However, recovered resources can be a more sustainable alternative to the conventional means of producing hydrogen, which has long relied on virgin natural gas and, to a lesser extent, coal. What’s the matter with “clean” hydrogen? In contrast to the burst of activity around green hydrogen, fossil energy stakeholders have struggled to make “clean” hydrogen happen. “Clean” hydrogen generally refers to natural gas paired with carbon capture systems. That approach may have passed muster years ago, but it is out of step with the demands of the 21st-century supply chain. Hydrogen is widely used throughout the global economy, in agriculture, toiletries and pharmaceuticals as well as manufacturing. Fresh demands are being placed on the hydrogen supply by the transportation sector, as the fuel cell industry grows alongside interest in hydrogen and ammonia fuels. Leading brands and other manufacturers are scrambling to decarbonize themselves upstream as well as downstream. Steelmakers, for example, are beginning to invest in green hydrogen systems because auto makers are beginning to demand “green” steel, in accord with the growing consumer demand for low-carbon products. The global supply of green hydrogen is miniscule now, and costs are high relative to conventional hydrogen from fossil sources. However, as economies of scale kick in for green hydrogen, and the supply increases, the appeal of fossil sources — and their heavy environmental baggage — fades away. The U.S. could be a green hydrogen leader Much of the shovels-in-the-ground activity is taking place overseas, but the U.S. is poised to catch up and become a green hydrogen leader in the global marketplace. “Owing to its large refining and chemical sectors, the United States is already one of the largest producers and consumers of hydrogen,” the International Energy Agency pointed out in a recent overview of the global hydrogen market. The IEA also noted that, due to its sprawling network of pipelines and other infrastructure, the US has a running start on the green hydrogen trend, compared to parts of the world where renewable resources are abundant, but transportation infrastructure is lacking. Proposals for the creation of green hydrogen “hubs” have been emerging in a number of U.S. states in recent months, from California and Texas to an ambitious tri-state initiative launched by Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. Another leading example in the U.S. is the “ACES” Advanced Clean Energy Storage project in Utah, which leverages an unusual underground formation for bulk green H2 storage. As one sign of growing momentum for the green hydrogen movement in the U.S., last April the Department of April revived its long-dormant Loan Programs Office to issue a loan guarantee of $504.4 million for ACES, citing its massive scale and innovative use of electrolysis. “Advanced Clean Energy Storage will capture excess renewable energy when it is most abundant, store it as hydrogen, then deploy it as fuel for the Intermountain Power Agency’s (IPA) IPP Renewed Project — a hydrogen-capable gas turbine combined cycle power plant that intends to incrementally be fueled by 100 percent clean hydrogen by 2045,” the Energy Department explained. The Energy Department is also promoting the hydrogen hub trend in other regions of the U.S. with a new $8 billion round of competitive funding through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program includes a carveout for natural gas, but it also mandates funding for at least one green hydrogen hub deploying renewables, and another hub deploying electricity from nuclear power plants. Oil and gas giants to the rescue? Fossil energy stakeholders have much work to do before they can claim credit for slowing down, let alone reversing, the catastrophic damage wreaked under a high carbon economy. Still, green hydrogen is a good place to start. The renewable energy angle makes this source of fuel a logical next step for oil and gas giants that are already investing in wind or solar energy. Shell and Equinor, for example, are participating in the EU’s sprawling NortH2 project, which leverages offshore wind power in the North Sea. Shell has also been participating in exploratory talks for a green hydrogen hub in Texas. TotalEnergies is in the mix with a 10-year, $50 billion green hydrogen partnership with Adani Group. In other recent news, BP announced a 40.5 percent stake in the AREH green hydrogen project in Australia, which is billed as one of the largest in the world. Of course, many outliers still remain. Chevron and ExxonMobil, for example, are leaning on natural gas with carbon capture. Nevertheless, the green hydrogen die has been cast. Corporations that don’t fit the mold risk being left out in the cold as the global supply chain shakes free of the fossil energy burden. Image credit: Gerd Altmann via Pixabay" target="_blank">capture excess renewable energy</a> when it is most abundant, store it as hydrogen, then deploy it as fuel for the Intermountain Power Agency’s (IPA) IPP Renewed Project — a hydrogen-capable gas turbine combined cycle power plant that intends to incrementally be fueled by 100 percent clean hydrogen by 2045,” the Energy Department explained.

The DOE is also promoting the hydrogen hub trend in other regions of the U.S. with a new $8 billion round of competitive funding through the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The program includes <a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/chemistry-molecules-hydrogen-7030097/" target="_blank">a carveout for natural gas</a>, but it also mandates funding for at least one green hydrogen hub deploying renewables, and another hub deploying electricity from nuclear power plants.

<h2>Oil and gas giants to the rescue?</h2>

Fossil energy stakeholders have much work to do before they can claim credit for slowing down, let alone reversing, the catastrophic damage wreaked under a high-carbon economy.

Still, green hydrogen is a good place to start. The renewable energy angle makes this source of fuel a logical next step for oil and gas giants that are already investing in wind or solar energy.

Shell and Equinor, for example, are participating in the EU’s sprawling NortH2 project, which leverages offshore wind power in the North Sea. Shell has also been participating in exploratory talks for a green hydrogen hub in Texas.

TotalEnergies is in the mix with a 10-year, $50 billion green hydrogen partnership with Adani Group. In other recent news, BP announced a 40.5 percent stake in the AREH green hydrogen project in Australia, which is billed as one of the largest in the world.

Of course, many outliers still remain. Chevron and ExxonMobil, for example, are leaning on natural gas with carbon capture. Nevertheless, the green hydrogen die has been cast. Corporations that don’t fit the mold risk being left out in the cold as the global supply chain shakes free of the fossil energy burden.

Image credit: <a href="https://pixabay.com/illustrations/chemistry-molecules-hydrogen-7030097/" target="_blank">Gerd Altmann</a> via Pixabay

It’s Official: Oil Giants Seek New Revenue in Green Hydrogen

Leading tech companies have been fending off the reputational damage that can occur when their own employees point out contradictions between their mission statement and their actual track record on climate action, sexual harassment, human rights and other concerns. Now SpaceX is taking a turn on the hot seat. However, instead of taking steps to put out the fire, as some have done, SpaceX has driven itself into risk territory, facing the prospect of losing out in the race to attract — and retain — top talent.

<h2>Employees warn SpaceX on behavior</h2>

The dustup began last Wednesday, when The Verge published the contents of <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/16/23170228/spacex-elon-musk-internal-open-letter-behavior" target="_blank">an open letter</a> to SpaceX management, posted on an internal Microsoft Teams channel. According to The Verge’s reporter, Loren Grush, more than 2,600 SpaceX employees are on the channel. In a follow-up story, Grush reported that <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2022/6/17/23172913/spacex-complaint-letter-firing-elon-musk" target="_blank">more than 400 employee</a>s signed the letter before it was taken offline, less than two days after it was posted. The Verge also cited a source who claimed that many employees used other means to voice support for the letter without facing the risk of being fired.

The letter was composed by a group of employees concerned about SpaceX CEO and Chief Engineer Elon Musk’s habit of hurling insults and other embarrassing comments on Twitter, and the impact of his behavior on their company’s reputation. They were especially concerned over his dismissive response to sexual harassment allegations that recently surfaced against him.

“It is critical to make clear to our teams and to our potential talent pool that his messaging does not reflect our work, our mission, or our values,” the authors warned.

The authors of the letter also raised substantial concerns over the company’s mishandling of harassment reports.

“To be clear: recent events are not isolated incidents; they are emblematic of a wider culture that underserves many of the people who enable SpaceX’s extraordinary accomplishments,” they wrote.

<h2>Taking a detour in the race for top talent</h2>

The authors of the letter emphasized that the behavior of SpaceX management, up to and including its CEO, was putting the company at risk by undercutting its ability to attract and retain top talent.

“SpaceX’s current systems and culture do not live up to its stated values, as many employees continue to experience unequal enforcement of our oft-repeated ‘No Asshole,’ and ‘Zero Tolerance,’ policies,” they advised, later adding that “The collaboration we need to make life multiplanetary is incompatible with a culture that treats employees as consumable resources.”

Naming a key DEI policy with an expletive is both insulting and dismissive, and the letter notes that the terms of the policy were never outlined in detail.

“Is the culture we are fostering now the one which we aim to bring to Mars and beyond?” the authors conclude.

<h2>A giant step backwards for free speech and employee activism at SpaceX</h2>

Considering that Musk’s interest in free speech has ramped up during his negotiations to purchase Twitter, the response of SpaceX to the letter was either extremely ironic, extremely hypocritical, extremely dangerous or all three.

As reported by Reuters and other media, SpaceX CEO Gwynne Shotwell summarily <a href="https://www.reuters.com/technology/spacex-fires-employees-involved-letter-rebuking-musk-nyt-2022-06-17/" target="_blank">fired at least five employees</a>, who were presumably responsible for composing or circulating the letter.

The threat of being fired without warning is certainly one effective way to curtail employee speech, but Shotwell went far beyond that. 

In a classic case of victim-blaming, Shotwell wrote: “The letter, solicitations and general process made employees feel uncomfortable, intimidated and bullied, and/or angry because the letter pressured them to sign onto something that did not reflect their views.”

“We have too much critical work to accomplish and no need for this kind of overreaching activism,” she added.

Those few, simple lines reflect an entire opus of Orwellian, white supremacist thinking, in which intolerable behavior is used as a weapon against those who fight intolerance. The theme of hurt feelings is the common thread running through a series of phony controversies bouncing around the white supremacist echo chamber, raising a cacophony of <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/racism-voter-fraud/718421" target="_blank">lies over voter fraud</a>, <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2021/critical-race-theory-alec/725786" target="_blank">critical race theory</a>, <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2020/diversity-training-red-scare/706151" target="_blank">diversity training</a>, <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/businesses-transgender-rights-texas/739146" target="_blank">trans rights</a> and other matters that have an impact on corporate diversity, equality and inclusion programs.

<h2>Intolerance, entitlement, violence</h2>

If the language deployed by Shotwell sounds familiar, that is no accident.

It is the same, disingenuous “diversity” argument weaponized by <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2016/zuckerberg-peter-thiel-brings-diversity-facebook-board/56736" target="_blank">Mark Zuckerberg</a> in his public defense of Facebook board member <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2019/facebooks-diversity-dilemma-elephant-room/83246" target="_blank">Peter Thiel</a>, who played an instrumental role in the 2016 campaign of former president Donald J. Trump.

“We care deeply about diversity. That's easy to say when it means standing up for ideas you agree with. It's a lot harder when it means standing up for the rights of people with different viewpoints to say what they care about. That's even more important,” Zuckerberg wrote on an employee message board in October 2016 (emphasis added).

Whether intentionally or not, in that brief note Zuckerberg raises feelings – “what they care about” — to the level of a sacrosanct, inarguable truth that is more important than any moral, ethical, legal or constitutional judgement over what is actually being said, or done.

From there, it is a straight line to the eruption of post-election emotion, entitlement and physical violence that culminated in <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/january-6-brands-fight-insurrection/734126" target="_blank">the almost-successful insurrection</a> of January 6, 2021, and which continues to this day in the attacks on Pride Month events across the nation by organized groups of white supremacists.

The previous insurrection failed, but the Pride Month attacks have become a proving ground and recruiting tool for those bent on succeeding the next time.

Companies that ignore the warning signs – or which, like SpaceX, argue for the entitlement of personal feelings – need to stop suppressing employee activists and start paying attention.

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/woWf_VJ7dNs" target="_blank">Bill Jelen</a> via Unsplash

Employee Activists Hit Brick Wall at SpaceX

Federal recognition of Juneteenth came <a href="https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.nytimes.com/article/juneteenth-day-celebration.amp.html" target="_blank">more than 150 years</a> after the holiday began in the Black community — and yet only the second year into official, nationwide status, and a slew of businesses have already tried to capitalize while others <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/businesses-juneteenth-meaning/747681" target="_blank">have even insulted</a> the community with stereotype-laden offerings. 

Walmart led the pack in <a href="https://www.thedrum.com/news/2022/05/24/walmart-juneteenth-ice-cream-sparks-accusations-commercial-exploitation" target="_blank">exploitative marketing</a> this year with its “Celebration Edition” Juneteenth-themed ice cream. The corporation — <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/walton-1/?sh=4b61b9056f3f" target="_blank">which is majority-owned</a> by a family of white billionaires — even went so far as to put a trademark logo on the package after the word Juneteenth.

TriplePundit asked DEI expert <a href="https://www.kimberlyleeminor.com/about/" target="_blank">Kimberly Lee Minor</a> to comment on the fiasco. Her response: “The Walmart Juneteenth ice cream debacle was the latest example of lack of cultural competence as well as lack of diverse power in the room where it happens. Do we think that the slaves had red velvet cake on June 19th, 1865, and is that why they thought it was a great idea to make artificially flavored red velvet ice cream and label it for Juneteenth? It was not only culturally incompetent, but it was also offensive. The problem could have definitely been avoided with more diverse leadership weighing in, but not just weighing in, having authority to make a decision. Being in the room without agency isn’t enough.”
<figure role="group" class="align-center"><img alt="DEI consultant and expert Kimberly Lee Minor" data-entity-type="file" data-entity-uuid="d13f725a-b6b1-4dc4-ba3e-517fc27c5aa9" src="/sites/default/files/inline-images/Kimberly%20Lee%20Minor.png" width="581" height="571" loading="lazy" /><figcaption>DEI consultant and expert Kimberly Lee Minor</figcaption></figure>HerSuiteSpot founder Marsha Guerrier broke the issue of <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/hersuitespot-businesswomen-side-hustle/739391" target="_blank">leadership</a> and authority down for TriplePundit last March when she described how part of her motivation to start her own company came from the unshakeable feeling that corporate America was just using her to tick a diversity box and wasn’t really utilizing her full set of leadership skills. In a way, such <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2020/07/01/how-corporate-americas-diversity-initiatives-continue-to-fail-black-women.html" target="_blank">corporate DEI failures</a> mimic what is happening when businesses try to make a quick buck off of Juneteenth as it is an attempt to profit off of Black people and culture while simultaneously failing to create real equity and inclusion at the C-Suite level.

While Walmart has since removed the exploitative ice cream from its freezers, the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/business/2022/may/25/walmart-juneteenth-ice-cream" target="_blank">apology</a> falls flat considering the retailer should have known better to begin with. TriplePundit asked Minor about the appropriateness of non-Black-owned businesses creating products or services with Juneteenth in mind, as in — “Is it ever okay?”

“I believe commercially benefitting from the holiday that celebrates another culture’s recognition of legal freedom is inappropriate.  I can’t think of a situation where this would feel right. The savagery and de-humanizing nature of slavery is a dark stain on America that was based on making profits off the backs of a race of human beings,” said Minor.

So, what should businesses interested in recognizing Juneteenth do instead? Minor encourages honoring the holiday instead of exploiting it. “The best way for businesses to approach Juneteenth is to allow their employees to observe the holiday. Provide educational materials to the team to explain the significance of the holiday.”

<a href="https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/ny-juneteenth-amazon-chicago-employees-angered-stereotype-racism-20200622-otkmmlx7r5betnsus2ryq57b6e-story.html" target="_blank">An Amazon facility</a> could have benefited from such advice in 2020 when it offered its majority-Black employees chicken and waffles in celebration, though the educational piece certainly would have been reversed had management listened to and learned from its workers. Sybil R. Williams, the director of African American and African diaspora studies at American University encourages employers to avoid such culturally insensitive mistakes by having conversations with their Black employees. She is quoted in <a href="https://www.hrdive.com/news/juneteenth-workplace-cultural-appropriation/624710/" target="_blank">HR Dive</a> with this advice for starting the discussion: “What is it that you would like to see that furthers actual Black engagement at this company? How can we incorporate Black history in a given subject area or at a given time?”

<a href="https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2022/06/15/us/juneteenth-companies-tone-deaf/index.html" target="_blank">The Indianapolis Children’s Museum</a> set a horrifying example of a non-profit serving up stereotypes instead of conversation and education. The museum recently sold a watermelon salad as a part of its Juneteenth-themed food court offerings. The non-profit places the blame for the offensive salad on their food court vendor, which suggests that neither entity has taken DEI seriously. Both would do well to take the rest of Minor’s advice personally — “They can also use Juneteenth as a catalyst, if necessary, to make the work culture more inclusive.”

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/rr6jwU21VoE" target="_blank">Derek Lamar</a> via Unsplash

Leave the Marketing Behind for This and Any Future Juneteenth and Focus on DEI

Last year, U.S. President Joe Biden signed Juneteenth into law as a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/06/17/us/politics/juneteenth-holiday-biden.html" target="_blank">federal holiday</a>. The decision was met with a mixture of celebration and confusion. A holiday that had mainly been celebrated in Black communities, particularly in Texas, was now being introduced to a larger audience. Many Americans were excited to set aside a specific day to celebrate the freedom of those who had been enslaved for hundreds of years. Others reacted with a sense of defiance. We can use Greg Kelly, the conservative television anchor, as an example from this year, who boldly <a href="https://twitter.com/gregkellyusa/status/1536436183055712261?s=20&amp;t=dsqhS8r0lEfwJ8vUKyuDEA" target="_blank">tweeted</a> in all-caps, “I'M BOYCOTTING ‘JUNETEENTH’-NO ONE EVEN KNOWS WHAT IT IS!!!”

Perhaps, without intending to do so, Kelly hit the nail on the head. It’s time for white Americans to learn about Juneteenth — and not just how it came to be, but also how its celebration can help move America forward.

<h2>Where Juneteenth came from and where it’s going</h2>

Juneteenth <a href="http://www.history.com/news/what-is-juneteenth" target="_blank">commemorates</a> the day the news of the Emancipation Proclamation <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/interactive/2021/juneteenth-history-texas-emancipation-photos/" target="_blank">reached every corner</a> of the United States, the last of which was Texas, when federal orders were read in Galveston about two months after the Civil War ended and two years after the Proclamation was signed. Because Texas hadn’t experienced a big influx of Union troops during the war, it had become known as a safe haven for slavery, even after the war was over. We can only imagine what the news of freedom meant to those 250,000 individuals who had been enslaved and exploited in the Lone Star State. Starting the next year, June 19 was celebrated as “Jubilee Day.”

Today, Juneteenth remains a great cause for celebration. The 13th Amendment was an important step of progress toward equality and equity in the U.S. Those who don’t know what to do with the holiday may consider reflecting on that great ambition of freedom, as well as the continued steps needed to fully realize it. 

<h2>Finding freedom in the ‘Land of the Free’</h2>

The inconvenient truth is that the U.S. is still not fully free. One of the biggest campaigns finding popularity this month is <a href="https://endtheexception.com/" target="_blank">#EndTheException</a>, which calls attention to a few words built into the 13th Amendment that allow the practice of forced labor to continue. 

Section 1 of the amendment reads: “Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime wherof the party shall have been duly convicted [emphasis added], shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction.”

#EndTheException calculates that every year incarcerated individuals lose over $14 billion in wages through forced labor. 

The equality promised by the country's founding documents is also undercut by a <a href="https://www.axios.com/2022/05/10/driver-of-the-racial-wealth-gap-business-ownership" target="_blank">racial wealth gap</a> that has kept the proportion of U.S. businesses that are Black-owned to 2 percent, despite the fact that 13 percent of the population is Black. 

Juneteenth’s own history points to the fact that progress sometimes requires great patience. Touré, of the popular Touré Show podcast, <a href="https://twitter.com/Toure/status/1537085376883576832?s=20&amp;t=kWmNs2Ve5_dddopaMjTJOQ](https://twitter.com/Toure/status/1537085376883576832?s=20&amp;t=kWmNs2Ve5_dddopaMjTJOQ" target="_blank">tweeted</a> this week: “Juneteenth is bittersweet for me. It commemorates enslaved people in Texas finding out that they had been emancipated, great, but they had been emancipated two years earlier and it took two years for the message to reach them. That's tragic.”

But there’s no use waiting around if people aren’t putting in the work. And if achieving greater freedom requires work, that means businesses must be involved.

<h2>Does capitalism even have a role to play on Juneteenth?</h2>

Perhaps companies should be most alert to how they can get Juneteenth wrong. Type “Juneteenth” into Twitter, and you find tweet after tweet decrying the commercialization of the holiday. We have all heard about how companies like Walmart and organizations like the <a href="https://fox59.com/indiana-news/indy-childrens-museum-faces-backlash-for-juneteenth-themed-watermelon-salad/" target="_blank">Children’s Museum of Indianapolis</a> have tried to capitalize on the holiday, and utterly <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/06/15/us/juneteenth-companies-tone-deaf/index.html" target="_blank">failed</a>. 

There are many ways companies can do the right thing, though. On June 6, in a simple sentence, activist Lance Cooper <a href="https://twitter.com/lmauricecpr/status/1533802424561020930?s=20&amp;t=LIAYBW-UvMt6gNbCYrN9pA" target="_blank">tweeted</a> an important point, “Support Black people before Juneteenth so it won’t look like a performance.” As a company, maybe now is the time to consider: Are you aiming to exploit the holiday to cushion your profits, or are you embracing its call for equity and taking a hard look at your own business, its operations and employees? 

In an email to TriplePundit, workplace diversity expert Kim Crowder wrote: “It is not surprising that companies would work to capitalize from this historic day. We have seen this with freedom celebrations such as <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/outlook/2022/05/05/theres-more-cinco-de-mayo-than-you-may-think/" target="_blank">Cinco de Mayo</a>. The issue is that it is likely for financial gain that does not further the cause of Black liberation through socioeconomic increase. If companies were directly sending all profits to Black U.S. communities or supporting Black businesses, that would be different. 

“This is a repeat of why Juneteenth was needed,” Crowder continued. “It is basically commodifying the Black American experience by those who do not share those experiences and who have benefitted from the enslavement of people.”

Companies have their work cut out for them, and Crowder, who works day in and day out to help <a href="https://www.triplepundit.com/story/2022/racial-equity-audit-amazon/743791" target="_blank">establish racial equity</a> and inclusion into the fabric of businesses, outlined specific actions leaders can take to commemorate Juneteenth in a real way: “Organizations should be looking beyond one day and focusing on areas such as pay equity, promotions rates, the ability for Black team members’ work to be seen and acknowledged, and partnering with Black businesses regularly, including paying them well for their work.”

“The goal is to work toward Black liberation everyday,” Crowder added. “That is what Juneteenth stands for.”

Image credit: <a href="https://unsplash.com/photos/e-S-Pe2EmrE" target="_blank">Rowan Heuvel</a>/Unsplash

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