Who gains from saving nature
Ledger 1 : 33 — For each dollar financing nature-based solutions in 2023, about $33 financed activities harmful to nature. (UNEP)
Cases / Tanker / shipping · United States · 2007–2021

Nature Conservancy began $10 million partnership with Dow Chemical in 2011

Short record: the main facts, with sources. A full case file has not been prepared.

Nature's voice · report
No measurement of the harm done to me here is on record.
Did nature suffer? Not measured.
Not on record
  • The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
What the record lacks: 2 none on record · 2 insufficient · 1 not measured See the gaps

The Nature Conservancy began a five-year, $10 million cooperation with Dow Chemical in January 2011, and reporting cited in the sources says WWF has had a $20 million relationship with Coca-Cola since 2007. The sources do not settle whether company money shapes conservation advice.

What?
The Nature Conservancy began a five-year, $10 million cooperation with Dow Chemical in January 2011; WWF has had a $20 million relationship with Coca-Cola since 2007. Harvard Gazette
Where?
Global partnerships; Dow's settlement covered plants in Texas and Louisiana US Department of Justice
When?
Partnerships from 2007 and 2011; Dow settlement in January 2021 US Department of Justice
Who?
Gained
  • Dow Chemical — five-year, $10 million cooperation with TNC from January 2011; initiative described as Dow's Harvard Gazette
  • Coca-Cola — relationship with WWF reported at $20 million since 2007
Lost
None on record
Harmed
None on record
Why?
Not stated in the sources reviewed.
How?
Companies funded conservation groups through multi-year cooperations; the sources do not describe what the Dow cooperation delivered. Harvard Gazette
6 of 6 questions answered from the record

What happened

The record, in order.

Harvard Gazette reported in 2013 that Dow formed a $10 million nature-valuation partnership with The Nature Conservancy in 2011, and that the initiative was Dow's.

Asked whether Dow would follow TNC's recommendations, Peter Kareiva, TNC's chief scientist, answered fifty per cent, according to reporting cited in the sources.

The same reporting says WWF has had a $20 million relationship with Coca-Cola since 2007.

In January 2021 Dow agreed a Clean Air Act flaring settlement covering four plants in Texas and Louisiana, with a $3 million penalty and about $294 million in pollution controls, according to a US Department of Justice release.

    In court and with insurers

    Every proceeding and every insurer decision on record.

    Lawsuits and rulings

    No court case on record. No court has ruled on this case.

    Insurers

    No insurer decision on record.

    What we don't know

    Undisclosed, unproven, untried: recorded as data.

    Nature

    • Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.

    Record

    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: Dow, Chevron, BP and Shell were listed as members of TNC's International Business Council; Dow's membership could not be confirmed on a primary source.
    • Insufficient Reported but not verified: BP gave TNC about $10 million in cash and land, cited from a 2010 Washington Post report through a secondary site.
    • None on record The sources do not say what the Dow cooperation delivered, or whether Dow followed TNC's recommendations.
    • None on record The WWF-Coca-Cola figure has no source link in the sources reviewed.

    Did the harm stop?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Who paid?

    Not stated in the sources reviewed.

    Sources

    Voices on record: — Company or project— Government and regulators— Courts✓ Press and investigations— Communities and civil society✓ Researchers

    Press and investigations

    Researchers

    1. Putting a price on nature
      Harvard Gazette · 2013-10

    Connected cases

    Related matters, and cases linked to this one through the same organisations, with the role each played in both.
    Terms used on this page

    Places and local terms

    Conservancy (Kenya)
    In Kenya, land managed by a community or private owners for wildlife alongside grazing, often with outside partners.

    Bonds and banking

    Guarantee
    A commitment by a third party, often a development bank, to pay if the borrower does not.
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