A leading environmental charity has been accused of corporate 'greenwashing' after a senior employee was secretly filmed discussing ways in which the organisation could help an arms company boost its green credentials, the Ecologist can reveal.
Options outlined by the representative of Conservation International (CI) included assisting with the arms company's green PR efforts, membership of a business forum in return for a fee, and sponsorship packages where the arms company could potentially invest significant sums of money in return for being associated with some of the pressure groups' conservation activities.
The sting was carried out by the London-based magazine Don't Panic, with their journalists posing as representatives of a major international defence corporation.
Although there is no suggestion of illegality or wrongdoing on behalf of CI, the footage could prove embarrassing to the US-based charity and could fuel growing concerns amongst activists that some NGOs are growing too close to big businesses often linked to environmental destruction and other abuses.
See full film below about the expose on Conservational International - includes undercover footage
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