Yes Men’s Antics Get Them Sued, but Do They Get Results?

By Christopher Foss

So it's official…unless it's a just another hoax (Let's hope so!). According to the website, Environmental Leader, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce announced it will sue The Yes Men, an activist group that uses trickster PR tactics to humiliate corporations and other entities into foregoing short-term financial interests and doing the right thing by the environment.

On October 9th, the Yes Men went live with a website parodying the Chamber of Commerce site, staged a mock press conference and (yes!) put out a false press release declaring the Chamber would support climate legislation that included “a stiff carbon tax.”

While one can appreciate how furious this might make the Chamber’s members – a quick review of the elements of the so-called “hoax” suggests this was not a malicious hoax per se. If you follow the link Full prepared comments smack in the body of the release, it’s clear this doesn’t cut it (as some commentators suggest) as a “War of the Worlds”/ Wellesian-caliber hoax. There can be little doubt of the parodic intent of the “prepared comments.” Take these lines, for instance:

“Let's remember Lehman Brothers, a committed, solid member of this Chamber, who in the interest of short-term gain scuttled a century. They ate lamb, but were left without wool when the cold, hard winter set in.”

The big question in all this is not whether the Yes Men will be successfully sued (Unlikely: apparently there is ample judicial precedent supporting parody) – no, it’s whether the Yes Men’s guerrilla PR tactics work…in the sense of, beyond being funny, really bringing attention to the issue, in this case, of big business becoming more responsible with respect to climate change. And most important, will the Yes Men antics actually goad companies or government agencies representing corporations into changing their policies as they effect the environment?

The jury’s still out on this basic question. It might be argued that the Yes Men approach is not entirely unreasonable in light of what can only be described as corporate America’s past irresponsibility when it comes to ethics, the environment and human rights. Short-term thinking in support of short and long-term greed, stonewalling and misrepresentation of their stance to the public and journalists have been, until recently, quite common among entities within the private sector.

The serious focus on sustainable business practice has only recently gained favor as the both ethically and economically prudent course for business. Government lobbyists and bodies like the Chamber of Commerce are not currently in step with enlightened business – and clearly this needs to change. Several companies have recently opted out of Chamber membership (i.e., Pacific Gas & Electric, Apple, PNM Resources, and Exelon) in response to the Chamber’s opposition to climate change legislation – oh yes, and after one of the Chamber’s officials said the Chamber planned to stage the environmental equivalent of the "Scopes monkey trial" -- a reference to an early 20th century court case in which prosecutors attacked the scientific foundations of the theory of evolution.

Crazy stuff!

Of course, as this very website clearly suggests, many companies now “get it” – big time! So it’s particularly onerous when the leadership of the Chamber of Commerce flouts global warming science and lobbies against tempered legislation, such as a carbon emissions tax, which many in business believe to be an elegant and market-friendly approach to limiting the emissions currently altering the earth’s climate at an alarming rate.

Maybe, just maybe, we do need Yes Men.

About Christopher Foss
Christopher Foss is a New York-based Sustainable Business Strategist and Communications Specialist. Currently he is Director of Communications for Intertek Sustainability Solutions (ISS). ISS, a unit of the global company, Intertek Group, works with businesses to seamlessly integrate CSR and Sustainability with their brand and operations. ISS is also responsible for the bi-annual Ethical Sourcing Forum (ESF). The next edition of the Ethical Sourcing Forum will be convened in New York City on March 18-19, 2010.

Throughout his career, Christopher has worked for a variety of NGOs and provided sustainability consulting services for many large and mid-sized corporations. His professional specialty has been in creatively aligning business strategy with sustainability imperatives. Clients have included The Coca-Cola Company, IKEA, SABMiller, Christie’s auction house, among others. He is also a writer of editorials and poetry. He can be reached at christopher.foss@intertek.com