Greenpeace to Facebook: Unfriend Coal by Earth Day

by Zachary Shahan · 2011-02-10 12:00:00 UTC
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It's been awhile since we wrote about Greenpeace's push and fun tactics, supported by more than 600,000 people, to get Facebook off coal. But you know Greenpeace isn't dropping the cause, despite Facebook's unwillingness to listen. (Does it ever drop a cause?) Now, it has added a deadline: Greenpeace has challenged Facebook to "unfriend coal" by this Earth Day in April.

This strikes me as a good tactic for a few reasons. One, it refreshes the push. It says, okay, you haven't done it yet, but that's alright, you can do it by Earth Day and make it a big green bang. Two, it gives Facebook the possibility to capitalize on it a bit, which seems to be all the company really cares about. Facebook can make it into a big green announcement tied to Earth Day that will make people love the company that much more (or not feel so guilty being addicted to it). Three, if Facebook continues to shrug its responsibility on this, there will be a lot of momentum around that time to get on Facebook's back about this big time. Finally, maybe as a fourth point, this Earth Day target gives Facebook a specific timeline—a deadline and adequate time to meet it. Let's hope the company takes advantage of this.

Greenpeace International Executive Director Kumi Naidoo recently met with Facebook Marketing Director Randi Zuckerberg, Mark's sister, at the World Economic Forum in Davos. After inviting her and Facebook to commit to becoming a clean energy leader, Ms. Zuckerberg said, "As a company, we've had a lot of discussion about how we can use more sustainable, renewable energies…we will love having you as a partner in that."

Naidoo took that as a positive sign. "We at Greenpeace fully embrace this offer," Naidoo said. "It’s clear that Facebook is paying attention to our campaign and is starting to recognize their responsibility."

Of course, if you haven't signed our petition to Facebook yet, sign it now. You can also join the Unfriend Coal Facebook page, or you can leave a comment on the official "Green on Facebook" wall to tell the company what you think.

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Image Credit: Greenpeace

Zachary Shahan has studied society and the environment for years, writes on these issues for a number of blogs, and is now the editor of planetsave.com, ecolocalizer.com, and cleantechnica.com.

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