Coverage of the BlackRock CEO offers an object lesson in how not to report on greenwashing.
by Adam H. Johnson, The Lever
In early December, Larry Fink, CEO of BlackRock, the world’s largest private equity company, announced BlackRock was going all in on crypto currencies, helping revitalize interest in the dwindling, fossil fuel-heavy industry. This otherwise routine business story is noteworthy for one important reason: Three years ago, Fink was heralded by many in business media for ostensibly helping to usher in a new, green, and sustainable brand of capitalism.
Fink now going all-in on the fossil-intensive crypto industry is a good time to review that fawning press coverage and determine what lessons can be learned from that particularly cynical news cycle of greenwashing.
For his big announcement in early 2020 that BlackRock was pivoting to climate-friendly investments, Fink received extensive positive media coverage presenting himself as a private industry advocate working to combat climate change.
With $10 trillion in assets under his management — roughly equivalent to the aggregate wealth of Latin America, and twice that of Africa — Fink argued that BlackRock could be a force of positive change for society’s most urgent problem: human-caused climate change. He received friendly coverage in The New York Times, CNBC, Bloomberg and Fortune, all portraying Fink and BlackRock’s work as a colossal cultural shift in Corporate America away from myopic profit motive into something resembling responsible corporate stewardship of the Earth.
Recent Posts
Biden Administration Moves To Reclassify Marijuana: A Major Shift In U.S. Drug Policy
May 17, 2024
Take Action Now President Biden’s Department of Justice takes historic steps to reclassify marijuana, aiming to end a ‘failed approach’ and…
‘Worse Than Iraq’: Three Former Biden Officials Explain Why They Resigned Over War In Gaza
May 16, 2024
Take Action Now “There’s just this blind unwillingness to recognize the U.S. does have all the power here – this notion that it’s not really…
Reflections On Student Activism
May 16, 2024
Take Action Now William Hartung, Democracy Versus Autocracy on America’s Campuses By William D. Hartung, Tom Dispatch I’ve spent most of my…
A Whistleblower’s Return To The World.
May 15, 2024
Take Action Now This was to be my first trip abroad in a very long time, certainly the first time since being released from prison. By Jeffrey…