Windfarms and Turbulent Communities II: Code of Ethics in New York
Continuing with the thread of communities fighting wind-farms, here is an interesting tale that has been brewing for some time in New York. In this case, the allegations are much more serious with communities claiming that wind-farm developers engaged in bribery, threats and corruption (conflict of interest situations) to get approvals from municipal officials.
To counter the crisis, New York’s Attorney General drafted a “Wind Industry Code of Ethics” to govern the behaviour of wind-farm owners. Included in the provisions are measures limiting the donations and gifts to municipal officials, conflict of interest provisions in hiring municipal officials and information privacy policies. So far only two companies have signed onto the Code of Ethics
The Code of Ethics in it self is not all that original and sets out fairly rudimentary conflict of interest provisions. Given that conflict of interest provisions are generally placed to control the excesses of “big” business and establish a fair playing field for all stakeholders, it is disappointing when such measures have to be explicitly applied to an industry that has sold itself on the moral high ground of environmentalism. Contrary to the claims of the Wind Industry, such provisions will NOT hamper the development of more wind farms. There are conflict of interest provisions in play in thousands of jurisdictions around the world (many of which are much more stringent), without negatively affecting business outcomes. These provisions, if adhered to, will allow the Wind Industry in New york to regain the public trust of the communities in which they operate.
Unfortunately, what happened in New york was much worse than the simple betrayal of the public trust. The industry displayed arrogance and greed, engaged in corruption and abused communities. As someone who has actively pushed for the implementation of green technologies, I am disheartened by it and hope that such behaviour never raises its ugly head in green businesses again.