Large companies are very much aware of how influential their actions can be. Nike is one of those large companies, so they knew that, say, resigning from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce board of directors might have some media pickup, which, interestingly enough, it very much did.
And why might this athletic wear behemoth part ways with the rather large and influential business group? It wasn’t because Nike’s representatives had to wear dress shoes to the meetings. Instead, it was over climate change. According to a Nike company statement:
“As we’ve stated, we fundamentally disagree with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce on the issue of climate change and their recent action challenging the EPA is inconsistent with our view that climate change is an issue in need of urgent action.”
They aren’t the first company to take a hike from the board. According to this Portland Business Journal article, utility companies PG&E, Exelon Corporation and PNM Resources have all parted ways in recent weeks These all come on the heels of the chamber challenging a finding by the EPA that the Clean Air Act can regulate greenhouse gases.
Nike’s statement references believing that “US businesses must advocate for aggressive climate change legislation and that the United States needs to move rapidly into a sustainable economy to remain competitive and ensure continued economic growth.”
Nike is remaining a member of the Chamber of Commerce, but also said in the statement that, “Moving forward we will continue to evaluate our membership.” Should more companies abandon ship, it will be interesting to see how the Chamber of Commerce reacts.
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