Concerns about being fired or victimised at work are preventing people from calling out their employers on the climate crisis and the wider environment, according to a charity.
A survey commissioned by Protect, a charity that defends whistleblowers, found fear of reprisals and uncertainty about how to provide proof were the main barriers to reporting on poor and misleading behaviour about the environment. Employees were also sceptical that their concerns would be properly dealt with.
The organisation started investigating after receiving a “surprisingly” low number of calls about the environment to its whistleblowing advice hotline. Of the handful who had contacted Protect about an environmental issue at work over the past decade, three-quarters said they faced negative treatment as a result.
Workers inside organisations can often be the first to spot environmental harms, from the illegal dumping of chemicals into a river to false claims about a product’s sustainability.
“Workers are the eyes and ears of an organisation and are best placed to spot when things go wrong,” said Caitlín Comins, a legal officer at Protect. “With the right information, they can raise concerns and damage can be prevented, minimising the impact on the environment. By exposing environmental wrongdoing, they can also help ensure organisations are accountable for their climate impact and there is appropriate intervention where required.”
Legal experts say growing requirements on companies, especially publicly listed ones, to disclose and control their environmental impacts give employees new opportunities to highlight discrepancies between what their employer says in public and what it is actually doing.
The Competition and Markets Authority, which has been investigating a number of green claims and has new powers to fine companies, invites anonymous tips but has not yet received any whistleblowing disclosures related to environmental matters.
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