Mighty Earth's "Perfect Storm" Approach to Influencing Corporate Environmentalism

Consumer facing companies are in the news constantly touting "green" initiatives, socially responsible campaigns, and feel good stories that make you wonder whether the marketing budget is bigger than the actual investment in changing their business practices for the better. And those are the one's who are defending a consumer facing brand- what we don't hear about are the companies farther up the supply chain that don't have a consumer presence and aren't as sensitive to negative impacts on their brand, but none the less have a tremendous impact on the environment. Getting these companies to care about, let alone change, their effect on the environment is a huge challenge, and vitally important. 

That's where Mighty Earth comes in. CEO Glenn Hurowitz explains how they've developed a "perfect storm" tactical approach to achieving the strategic outcomes that will influence upstream businesses like Cargill- one of the world's largest producers of meat. He explains how in order to get these massive companies, generally happier to work in the shadows than expose themselves to consumer facing pressure, Mighty Earth employs a multi-layered influence campaign involving consumer awareness, grassroots activation, financial pressure, political influence, and competitive deterrence. 

And because it's an election year (and we just couldn't resist), we dig into the political moment we're in now, and the one we need to be in come November 4th. How will we rally the political capital needed to push through an ambitious climate agenda? What lessons from previous administrations are salient, and how can we use them to not make the same mistakes in the future?