Eco Monday: Trafigura – time to come clean

Source: ethicsworld.org

This post was drafted for posting yesterday, but a lot of interest was being expressed in the #Likeminds story, so it was held back until today.

An open letter to PR consultancy Bell Pottinger

Dear Bell Pottinger,

We all use petrochemicals, and accept that, however unpleasant, the bi-products of these need disposing of.

However, quite aside of the ethics, all companies, including those like Trafigura, need to regard every part of their operations as having an effect on their PR (public relations).

Your client Trafigura is now a household name in some sectors. Their solicitors, Carter Ruck, have been put into the limelight. Harriet Harman has had her say.  The Twitter noise has died down. Has it gone as quickly as it came?  Possibly.

The fact that Trafigura’s  solicitors apparently tried to prevent the reporting of a Parliamentary question shows just what lengths they will stretch to in order to prevent everyone examining their activities. I can’t imagine the financial cost, leave alone the reputational one.

Yet your client, currently the scourge of social media circles, is now uniquely placed to become the hero of the piece, and you are uniquely placed to show just how good PR CAN be.

I am sure that the fact they were prepared to accept cheap, illegal disposal of bi-products will have attracted more custom from certain corners.  More reputable  customers may be more circumspect before throwing in their lot with a company now so apparently sullied.

In your shoes, I would offer your client, Trafigura, a ten step plan:

1. To publicly apologise for this incident and clearly state their position going forwards/actions planned from here (particularly if, as they claim, the media has misreported the incident. What is there to prevent the company from stating their side of the case on-line?) Note: since posting this, I found this link posted in the responses to a guardian article. This is absolutely unforgiveable from a PR perspective. assuming this is a fairly stated case. To post it in an unsearchable format where bloggers and concerned individuals find it in this day and age defies basic common sense. I was amongst those who actively searched for the other side of the story.)
2. To commission an immediate internal investigation to see how and why this illegal dumping (even if by suppliers) happened, and how it could be prevented in future.
3. To urge the legal team, Carter Ruck, which has reputation in media circles, to involve the PR team before undertaking legal actions which may have huge implications for their PR and IR practises, particularly in a socially driven world.
4. To undertake a full CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) audit, aligning their responsibilities to customers, suppliers, the wider community and the environment. If they need to be persuaded, use their own language: good corporate governance is high on the agenda of most corporate investors. The PR implications of everything they do in a social media age has to be considered a serious part of their ‘risk management’.
5. To clean up the mess. Quickly. It may well have been the responsibility of a third party but Trafigura can afford argue about costs later. This is a matter of life and death. If they cannot see the human imperative for resolving this, they cannot expect environmental campaigners to ease the pressure. Trying to silence the media means that their activities will be under constant scrutiny and they will be under far more spotlight than most.
6. To hold a well planned, well briefed  internal  conference, inviting customers, suppliers, NGOs, politicians and thinkers to together try and address some of the issues that they face as a company operating in a complex and necessary market: this open exchange might well result in huge mandate for change, at least partially acceptable to all, re-establishing some lost trust.
7. The government of the Ivory Coast allowed the waste disposal. Work with them and NGOs to strengthen their ability to educate and help local disposal companies.  This has a strong benefit to them as an organisation. It would take very little effort to introduce an approved supplier scheme with high standards. Local companies should be falling over themselves to sign up. Whilst achieving the moral objective of preventing accidents, it would offer the company an opportunity to adopt a leadership position for good practise, appealing to their business partners.
8. Alternatively/also, establish a health and education foundation, using their own charity resources, in the region affected by the dumping, to help mitigate the effects of their actions. Handled with advice from local NGOs, Trafigura might even find that it has a win-win, creating a pool of skilled, educated people trained to undertake waste disposal safely.
9. To set up a foundation for research into less noxious ways of waste disposal.
10. To invite the media (of all types) to join them on their journey towards cleaning up their act. They are now a well know name, and now of unique interest. This multi-faceted ‘clean up’ of their business would  offer a far greater insight in the way that business works and the complexities of the decisions that have to be made than any Dragons Den or Apprentice ever could, and put a human face on what is currently a faceless wrongdoer.

I am sure that you understand your clients market far better than I do.  I am certain that you are already considering some of this. I would hope that you will be considering the implications of your own association with Trafigura should it fail to clean up its act.

You both have the opportunity for you to demonstrate to the world that even the messiest of  businesses can come clean, and to show how a new era of open dialogue and community engagement can benefit all parties. Ethics and business can and should sit at the same table in a way that benefits everyone.

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