Podcast The Sustainability Transition, BUas speaks with Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This
In this episode of the podcast The Sustainability Transition, BUas speaks with Mark van Baal, founder of Follow This. This organisation mobilises green shareholders to push oil companies towards sustainability. Van Baal shares his mission, his pride in influencing Shell, and the importance of perseverance in the energy transition.
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Buying shares as a sustainability strategy
It may seem counterintuitive: buying shares in oil companies to tackle climate change. But that is exactly what the movement Follow This is doing. “We desperately need these companies,” Van Baal explains. “If we ignore them, they may go bankrupt eventually, but by then we’ll be living in a world that has warmed by three or four degrees. They’re heading for the abyss — and dragging the world down with them.”
Small impact, major shift
Van Baal is particularly proud that his organisation, as an outsider, has managed to influence Shell. At a shareholders’ meeting, support for taking responsibility for emissions (scope 3) doubled. “That forced Shell to respond. For the first time, they assumed responsibility for scope 3. Still not enough to meet the Paris goals, but it was a breakthrough.”
Movements and perseverance
What helped him keep going? A simple online video. “In How to start a movement, you see a lone dancer gradually getting a crowd to join in. That encouraged me: even if you're laughed at, keep going. It's all about those first followers.”
Want to know more? Listen to the full episode via sustainability-transitions.buas.nl.