When it comes to our growing public conversation about the environment and sustainability, I’m always struck by how much it seems like a bad 7th grade debate. One voice authoritatively states a defensible position, and the other voice responds with a similarly viable point of view. Then it goes back to the first voice, returns to the second voice, and so on, until one voice either wins the so-called debate, or the debate continues on endlessly, leaving the rest of the class – or society as a whole – bewildered and confused.

We see this with so many divisive political issues all the time. And unfortunately, we are seeing it with climate change – and more specifically the notion of corporate climate responsibility. As many media outlets report on the new Climate Counts company scores we released this week, the point/counterpoint dynamic looms large.

Here’s usually how the story goes: we evaluate the publicly available information on the climate actions of some of the world’s most well-known companies, score and rank them, and then present what is a hopeful story about what we see as the growing openness and technical sophistication of many companies we’ve scored as they address climate change. Then some of those companies are asked to respond their scores, most often the companies that seem most surprising or haven’t improved as much as others. Those companies often protest, and then the issue is left at that. A non-profit organization provides its analysis; a company brushes it off. Where does that leave us?

What I’d like to hear in the reporting on stories about corporate action (or inaction) on climate is not what one side or the other thinks, but what consumers really think – from real consumers themselves. After all, it’s consumer concern that motivates companies to act on any issue. I’m often asked – do consumers really care about what companies are doing to address climate change? I always mention that fact that over the last year, thousands of people have come through the Climate Counts website and have sent e-mail directly to companies, and in a number of cases, companies themselves have told us they’ve heard from many people about their Climate Counts scores, so much so that they considered it a call to action – or it expedited their ongoing climate action plans.

Consumers and companies need to be collaborating to address the climate crisis. That means that it takes (1) individual behavior change, (2) strong public policy, (3) the development of greener products and greener energy technologies, and, (4) yes, a clear demonstration from the world’s biggest companies that they are committed to leading by example on climate protection – through measurement, actual companywide emissions reductions, policy engagement, and public education. When they show the marketplace that they can reduce the companywide impact they have on climate, it sends a strong message to us all – that reducing our climate impact can and, in fact, must be part of a growing, 21st-century economy.

At the end of the day, I don’t care which companies are on top or which companies are on the bottom of the Climate Counts rankings. What I care about is whether all companies are committed to taking responsibility and doing something. Even if the ranks of the companies we’ve scored were completely reversed, that point of view wouldn’t change one iota.

The fact of the matter is, we know that companies have a tremendous impact on climate change – not just in the products and services they provide but in what goes in to creating those products and services. What we don’t know is whether consumers really care about what companies are doing about climate change – and care enough to hold them accountable.

So tell me — do you?

Wood Turner - Project Director, ClimateCounts.org