Esso debate pumps up consumer groups

WHAT do Anita Roddick, Rory Bremner, Bianca Jag-ger and Coronation Streets Ken Barlow (played by William Roache) have in common? They are all boycotting Esso petrol stations.

Consumer boycotts were once associated with only highly committed activists but now shoppers and celebrities are making their feelings known.

According to a poll carried out by MORI, 53% of consumers support the boycott of Esso until ExxonMobil, the US-based parent company, changes its stance on the Kyoto Protocol - the international agreement to curb global warming.

Activists are targeting Esso because they claim Exxon-Mobil is the largest corporate opponent of the Kyoto Protocol. The firm maintains that carbon-dioxide emis-

sions can best be reduced by new technology, not by Kyoto's rulings.

Basil Towers, of corporate responsibility consultancy Christow, says: "We will see an increase in consumer boycotts over all sorts of issues from the environment to the use of child labour. People are disillusioned with government and are deciding to take action themselves."

It is a view shared by research firm the Henley Centre. "The balance of power is shifting towards consumers and they are much more willing to voice their opinions," says consultant Tamar Kasriel. "People have so many products and services to choose from that it is easier than ever to boycott companies you don't agree with."

The Henley Centre's research indicates that in the past year, 11% of consumers have stopped buying products from companies they perceive to be unethical and a quarter have asked friends and relatives to stop buying from a particular company.

Esso, which has 1500 petrol stations serving around 40,000 customers an hour, says "all figures relating to sales are confidential".

But a statement issued by the company says: "The call for a boycott of Esso service stations can only be counter-productive. Kyoto has opened the way for debate on more effective ways to address the challenge of climate change. ExxonMobil intends to be a responsible and active participant in that process. We do not believe that urging a boycott of Esso to try to suppress one view is a constructive contribution to that important debate."

Some industries are already looking at what they can do to avoid boycotts.

Britain's leading confectionery companies, for instance, are discussing how they can crack down on the use of forced labour in African cocoa plantations.

"Boardrooms are now much more receptive to the threat of boycotts than in the past," says a spokeswoman for the National Consumer Council. "Twenty years ago their minds were closed and they conducted their business how they wanted to.

Now they know they have consumers to answer to."

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