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Blog PostsActivists Derail Business School Q&A With Chevron CEO John Watson
By Joshua Kahn Russell at Oct 13, 2010 |
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Some friends and I were concerned about Chevron’s attempts to evade both the law and the company’s moral responsibility to clean up the 18 billion gallons of toxic oil waste it deliberately dumped in the Amazon, killing 1,400 people and poisoning thousands of others. So we paid him a visit.
Dressed business casual, we came in early and each took seats in different parts of the room. We listened to John Watson distance Chevron from the BP oil disaster. He reassured us all that Chevron is a thoughtful oil company. He went on to say that, above all other objectives, “No goal is more important than operating in a safe and responsible manner.”
On that note, Debra Michaud, a University of Chicago alumna, jumped up to express her dismay that a fellow graduate would be involved in poisoning the communities of 30,000 people. She asked Watson to speak to Chevron’s toxic legacy in Ecuador.
Watson was quick to evade the question, claiming that the damage was not Chevron’s responsibility. He seemed relieved at the end, as if he was thinking, “Phew, glad that’s over.” But it wasn’t.
A couple minutes later I took the mic and pointed out the irony in Watson’s allegations of “deception and conspiracy” on the part of the Indigenous plaintiffs in the court case, as his comments themselves were the real deception. After pointing out his false claims of remediation, he asked that we all just wait and “see how it all plays out.” After waiting through 17 years of Chevron’s delay-deceive-and-distort tactics, I kept pushing and went on to challenge his arguments.
The students in the room were engaged. Our respectful tone and figures presented from scientific case studies played well with the Business School crowd. One person near me glanced to the podium and murmured to her neighbor, “Why isn’t he answering the question?” Watson’s eyes darted around nervously as he realized that his presentation was being hijacked.
Watson’s entourage from the Business school looked panicked. The moderator escorted me off the microphone. A few minutes later, Abigail Singer went up to the mic to speak, and the alarmed moderator declared the Q&A over, after seeing Abigail’s paper, fearing she too would ask about Ecuador. She was escorted to her seat, and the event was declared over.
It was clear that the one thing people would remember from the event was the controversy about Chevron’s role in poisoning Ecuadorean Amazon communities.
We went up to shake Watson’s hand, and were immediately blocked by security guards who ushered him away. We persistently followed him out, holding up a banner reading “Energy shouldn’t cost lives” all the way out of the building. Two people from the crowd cheered us on, saying “Way to stand up!” and “Keep going!” We did, until the moderator, furious, saw to it that we were escorted from the building.
John Watson needs to know that this issue won’t simply go away. It is going to stay in his face until he addresses it head on — even on his home turf and alma mater.
Video forthcoming!
Very nice
By notme, at Oct 21, 2010 17:28 PM
When I saw the headline, I was expecting the usual stand up and shout and hold a sign sort of action. And, to that, I was prepared to ask 'what was the point?', 'what was accomplished?'
Which is why reading this was so much fun. :) Nicely done in that it got the room of people thinking about topics the CEO of Chevron would rather not have them thinking about.
I'd make one point and suggestion. The target isn't really Mr. Watson. The target is everyone he's trying to talk to. The target is the audience in the meeting. The Mr. Watson's of the world have their own reasons for talking to this audience, so we do as well. That's why I think this was so nicely done, in that by respectfully asking questions and providing facts, you do a nice job of talking to this audience.
If you had the people, I'd suggest having more people outside after the meeting. Something pretty simple, maybe just one sign that says something like "Learn More About Chevron in the Amazon", then have them handing out fliers and post cards to the crowd as they leave. Either items that lead to a web site with a lot more info, or short fliers they can casually read and learn a bit more about what's going on.
A great outcome would be that the next time you go to one of these events with Mr. Watson, before you ever get up to say your piece, others in the audience are already asking questions about Chevron and the Amazon.
A lot of what a CEO does is public relations for his company. Even when he gets nostalgic about coming back home to the Chicago Boys. The CEO is a very busy man, and if this didn't make him and his company look good, then he probably wouldn't be be doing it. The CEO is always out selling his company. Either to potential recruits, or to professors who might analyse his stock and performance and recomend by or sell. The CEO is always out selling his company.
Which is why the audience is always the main target. We probably won't convince the John Watson's of the world. But, if we convince their audience, then that won't matter. If he's living in a world where people decide its too risky to invest in a company that pollutes on such a massive scale, or if the best minds won't go work for a company that does that, then Mr. Watson becomes a powerless old man on a beach in retirement somewhere.
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