Activists are not the enemy, so let’s work together 

5 ways to engage with activists 

When it comes to building fruitful collaborations with activists, there are five rules to follow, based on my experience at Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, Greenpeace, and Mighty Earth:   

1.   Negotiate with authority 

There’s nothing more frustrating for NGOs than sitting across the negotiating table from young staffers lacking any real authority. It slows down the whole process of engagement as they need to take things up the corporate hierarchy and seek approval on everything. The temptation for us in such a situation is to end the negotiation and make our findings public in ever more aggressive ways. So, for things to be decided quickly, my advice to companies is to delegate to executives who actually have the power to negotiate. 

2.  Bring expertise to the table 

It is equally important to bring people to the table who have a strong grasp of the issues that need to be addressed – people who have some knowledge of sustainability in terms of traceability, transparency, deforestation, and agroecology issues as well as labor rights and other social issues. It wastes a huge amount of time to have to educate corporate staff, especially if there are multiple teams involved in the negotiation. Sending highly qualified employees shows a real seriousness on the part of the business to want to clean up its act. If your sustainability team doesn’t have someone on board who knows enough about the relevant issues, my advice is: hire quickly or pay for your staff to get a high-quality crash course on the topic. 

3.  Ensure a rapid response 

Speed is of the essence when it comes to engaging with activists. Usually, by the time an NGO has come to a company to air grievances, it’s because the problems have been brewing for some time and are coming to a head. Sometimes, large areas of forest are imminently on the chopping block, or indigenous people’s land is about to be expropriated, for example. Companies need to start the dialogue fast, but also quickly implement whatever is discussed and agreed upon. Dealing with issues fast is a sign of good faith that helps to establish trust for future discourse. 

4. Be honest 

Companies must be scrupulous and truthful when engaging with activists. NGOs usually are more likely to become a thorn in the side of businesses that refuse to change, stonewall our queries, or – worst of all – fudge their answers. It may be tempting to greenwash, but in my experience, this undermines long-term dialogue with NGOs because it erodes trust that is hard to recapture. Lying and hiding simply doesn’t work – honesty is the best policy.  

5. Build rapport 

Of course, being called out for bad practices is a bitter pill to swallow. Reflecting this, some companies refused to engage with NGOs that critique them. For instance, a handful of recalcitrant actors have refused to engage with Chocolate Scorecard, a website I helped create that compares chocolate makers on their sustainability efforts by grading and ranking them on how they tackle use of child labor, farmer poverty, agroforestry, pesticides, and deforestation. It is important for companies to stay cordial, calm, receptive, and engaged. Checking out of engagement with NGOs builds mistrust (what are they hiding?) and frustration (why are we trying so hard when they just brush us off?). For corporate executives reaching out to NGOs, try to observe all the rules of participatory and respectful meetings, take detailed notes and record discussions, then share them back with NGO staff to minimize misunderstandings and ensure that you’re working off a shared vision.