Environment, nice statements, lack of action

I love skiing and because of it, I’m also very interested in following alpine ski racing. While not totally passionate about it, there are things I love about it and also things that sometimes make me cringe. For instance, I’ve never been a fan of the October Sölden races and even less now of the planned November downhill event on Zermatt’s Gran Becca race course.

I'm a strong believer that natural snow and regular seasons as we know them should frame the FIS calendar and we shouldn’t tinker too much with our dying glaciers. Just my personal opinion. In the midst of all this, FIS claims to be climate-positive by means of using climate offsets, a practice Greenpeace has long criticized. 

This brings me to the point that when it comes to environmental issues, why are they more righteous statements and than effective actions taken? Are industry, NGOs and institutions excessively using “greenwashing” to shelter themselves from critics? It appear easier for them to make meaningless statements that sound good rather than to take tangible actions are capable of bringing results, even if they are hard to accept and live with, in the short term? 

As most of us know, greenwashing is the practice of making misleading or exaggerated claims about the environmental benefits of a product, program, service, or company. It’s often crafted to create a positive public image and avoid criticism for environmental damage. There are so many companies claiming that their products are "carbon neutral" or "eco-friendly", even though they’re still produced using fossil fuels and other harmful practices. Or, even worse, some NGOs don’t think twice before exaggerating the impact of their work in order to raise more money. 

Obviously, these meaningless statements are much easier to pronounce than to take tangible actions that bring results, even if they hurt in the short term. Taking real and lasting action on environmental issues is often difficult and expensive. It may require businesses to change their production processes, governments to implement new policies, and individuals to make changes to their lifestyles. In contrast, making pious statements about environmental issues is relatively easy. 

It doesn't require any real commitment or investment. And it can actually work well for business, as consumers are increasingly drawn to companies that appear to be environmentally friendly. In the end, it’s up to us to hold industry, NGOs, and institutions accountable for their greenwashing claims. 

At the same time, we must continue to educate the public about the severity of environmental problems, the need for action that works and also pressure our governments to address environmental issues, even if it means making tough decisions. Let’s remember that words are cheap. Actions are what matter. 

We need to demand that those who make pious and righteous statements about environmental issues begin backing up their words with action. We should all begin by asking the FIS to change its disastrous ways and get the hell out of our vanishing glaciers...