Pizza Hut Execs Play Ostrich, Won’t Talk to Orangutans

by Rolf Skar

January 5, 2011

Pizza Hut has a problem.

Greenpeace has documented the restaurant buying palm oil linked to deforestation in Indonesia – destroying the homes of the endangered orangutan.

It’s a problem other companies – like Nestle and Burger King – have had, and fixed. But, it’s not one that will go away by pretending it isn’t there. That shouldn’t be a surprise, since most problems don’t go away when they are ignored.

Want to add your voice to the thousands?

Click here to send a message to Pizza Hut execs.

It’ll only take a minute to tell Pizza Hut that you don’t want rainforest destruction with your pan-pizza. Join us in urging Pizza Hut to cut direct and indirect supply of Sinar Mas (leading rainforest destroyer in Southeast Asia) palm oil out of their supply chain.

Already, thousands of activists and pizza lovers have spoke up, asking Pizza Hut to stop supporting deforestation. If thousands of people were asking for your attention, what would you do? Listen? Well, if you were Pizza Hut executives, you would apparently stick your head in the sand and pretend it wasn’t happening.

“Corporate responsibility” is a buzz term that receives plenty of lip-service these days.  Some companies are taking it seriously, while others just pretend to care in order to greenwash their image.  But, even the phoniest of companies respond when issues about their business are raised. They pretend to care. That’s because in today’s world, you simply can’t afford to appear out of touch, dismissive or arrogant or your customers become, well, not very happy with you.

Plenty of executives – including industry leaders from major brands – are learning that conservation groups, far from being scary monsters to hide from, often have valuable insights and information to share.

That’s what makes the, “hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil” routine of Pizza Hut executives so strange. It’s as if they are stuck in a cultural time-warp where social media, modern public relations and corporate responsibility don’t exist. 

Don’t take my word for it.

The above video was filmed when Greenpeace activists tried to deliver thousands of postcards to Pizza Hut headquarters in Dallas. Watch, to see what happens.

Rolf Skar

By Rolf Skar

Rolf has served Greenpeace USA since 2007 as a campaigner, manager, and thought leader. From UN negotiations to field work in the Amazon, he has a deep knowledge of change-making, movement-building, and collaboration with allies and the Greenpeace global network. Rolf has contributed to award-winning corporate accountability campaigns and multi-stakeholder efforts to build innovative solutions to environmental problems.

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