Protesters outside the Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) on Thursday (08/05) called for increased scrutiny of the organisation’s work with companies such as Coca-Cola, Anglo America, and AXA.

The protest was organised by the Organisation of Radical Cambridge Activists (ORCA), which has accused CISL of “greenwashing” through its Corporate Leaders Group and educational programmes. Around ten protesters picketed outside CISL’s office on Regent Street and distributed leaflets to people entering the building.

On its website, CISL describes its Corporate Leaders Group as “a global network bringing together businesses committed to leading the transformation to competitive, sustainable, inclusive economies that will deliver net-zero carbon emissions by 2050”. Members listed include Coca-Cola, mining company Anglo American, and Amazon.

A ORCA member at the protest explained that the group believes the Corporate Leaders Group allows environmentally damaging companies to maintain an eco-friendly appearance through their membership.

They claimed: “[CISL] says ‘Oh, Coca-Cola is really green because it helps pressure the government.’ But Coca-Cola is the largest plastic polluter in the world.”

“[The impact] is not very clear, other than we know that these companies pay tens of thousands of pounds to be part of corporate leader groups. It seems to be just sort of part of that mechanism of laundering [companies’] reputations to allow them to continue to operate despite their harm,” they added.

The ORCA member also pointed to Anglo American as a problematic member of the Corporate Leaders Group. Leaflets distributed at the protest accused the company of “poisoning water, land and air across several continents”.

The protester said of Anglo American: “They have this dual system where they present themselves as super green and ethical, and then actually the communities on the ground are like being really f****d over in terms of water extraction, and also pollution.”

The ORCA member labelled CISL’s education initiative as another avenue for greenwashing. They said: “[CISL] holds courses for various companies, and they seem to be a lot more willing to invite very, very dodgy companies, like PETRONAS.”

ORCA also alleges that CISL works with fossil fuel companies, citing BP and Total Energies in the leaflet that was handed out at the protest.

CISL says it does not directly partner with oil and gas companies, with its website stating: “We believe that an urgent phase out of fossil fuels is required, and that most fossil fuel companies — particularly oil and gas companies — are poorly positioned for this transition and that many are obstructing the pace of change required to deliver global climate goals. This is why we currently have no active direct projects or partnerships with dedicated fossil fuel companies, and we do not expect to have in the future.”

Today’s protest was part of a larger campaign by ORCA entitled “CISL: Sustainable Lies”. One member described the goals of this campaign as “raising that awareness internally in CISL, and also just embarrassment”.

Another protester, the secretary of activist group Cambridge Stop The War, said: “I think it’s really important to join up the connections between our different campaigns that we have in Cambridge. So I’m [an] anti-war activist. I’m also an anti-racism activist. And what we see with the climate movement is that it’s not in a bubble.”

A spokesperson from CISL said that: “We welcome lawful civil society protest which raises awareness of social injustice and environmental destruction - and we recognise that companies are both participants in this and have the power to influence positive change. We have been clear to ORCA on our published position on the phase out of fossil fuels and our policy on who we work with. We do not work with fossil fuel companies but don’t rule out engagement in all circumstances.”

“We do not agree on complete withdrawal from engagement with all companies along the lines they draw – but we do look carefully at each case to weigh the potential for change. Our Corporate Leaders Groups have been instrumental in securing the UK’s world leading Climate Change Act and the EU Nature Restoration Law and they continue to be influential and progressive business voice in raising policy ambition on climate change,” they continued.

A spokesperson from Anglo American said: “Anglo American is committed to operating responsibly with a clear focus on sustainability, and with the utmost consideration for all our stakeholders. We firmly believe in conducting our business honestly, fairly, ethically and transparently — these are non-negotiable foundations which are central to our values and our purpose.”

All relevant parties have been contacted for comment.