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Monday Sep 18, 2006
Arms Trade goes green
BAE Systems announced today that it will start designing more environmentally friendly munitions in an attempt to reduce their impact on the environment. According to The Times, the initiative has the backing of the MOD, who are keen to produce quieter warheads to reduce noise pollution and grenades that produce less smoke - very comforting if you happen to live in Iraq or Afghanistan.
Is this an example of a company following good CSR practice - looking at what they produce and how they can reduce its impact on the environment? Or is it complete and utter greenwash? As one of my colleagues quite rightly pointed out, there is a desperate need to stop weapons like land mines from taking lives long after their purpose has expired. The MOD have also got a fair point when they say:
"A concept of green munitions is not a contradiction in terms. Any system, whatever its ultimate use, can be designed to minimise its impact [on the] environment."
I find it quite hard to get my head round though, and I get a similar feeling when I look through British American Tobacco's Social Report.
I may be hopelessly naive, but I sometimes feel like there's a huge elephant in the room that some of these companies won't tackle - the fact that what their products are ultimately damaging to those that come into contact with them (as a smoker I'm willing to admit some level of hypocrisy here - questioning their CSR credentials whilst dragging on one of their products).
Ultimately I don't know where the CSR line is here - does it encompass each and every element of a business, including the impact of their products on society? If it does where does that leave the BAE Systems and the BAT's of the world?
