business ethics presentation: facebook & greenpeace by vinh-khoi le and daniel tonkovich
DESCRIPTION
Facebook, a social media giant with 500 million subscribers, faced aggressive retaliation from Greenpeace, an NGO committed to environmental awareness and protection, for building a new data center facility in Prineville, Oregon. While Facebook claimed that the new data center would be among the most energy efficient in the world with a PUE of 1.15, its main provider of electricity would be PacifiCorp, which sourced 60% of its energy from coal. Greenpeace launched a campaign in February 2010 entitled “Unfriend Coal,” demanding Facebook to become coal-free and provide a platform to advocate for clean energy. This campaign became massively popular, amassing 500,000 supporters for its Facebook page and 200,000 views for its Youtube video in the first week. This presentation addresses the issues facing the parties involved and proposes a solution that benefits all parties involved. Designed by Vinh-Khoi Le and Daniel Tonkovich. For more presentations, check out my Slideshare: http://www.slideshare.net/VinhKhoiLe Check out my LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/pub/vinh-khoi-le/32/460/874 Follow me on twitter: https://twitter.com/vinhkhoiTRANSCRIPT
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Cooperative SpecializationOptimizing Solutions for Facebook, Greenpeace, and the State of Oregon
Klein Business Ethics Competition | Boston College
Vinh-Khoi LeDaniel Tonkovich
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• Designed with a focus on energy efficiency • PUE of 1.15• Airside economizer
• 35 initial jobs• Additional jobs
forecasted with expansion
Prineville Data Center
Source: Huffington Post
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• PacifiCorp Utilities: 60% Coal
• “Unfriend Coal” Campaign:– Increase the use of clean
energy to make Facebook coal free
– Develop a plan to make Facebook coal free by 2021
– Educate Facebook users about how the company powers its services and its carbon footprint
– Advocate for clean energy at the local, national, and international levels
Greenpeace Retaliation
Source: PacifiCorp
Source: Power Past Coal
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– Letter to Mark Zuckerberg
– Social Media Platforms:• Facebook: 500,000
supporters• YouTube: 200,000 video
views in first week
Campaign Strategies
Image Source: YouTube
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• Social media giant with 500 million subscribers– Social network and marketing platform– Primary source of public info for
organizations– International recognition and brand
power
Stakeholder|Facebook
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• International NGO– Deep commitment to environmental causes– Sizable financial resources: $251 million OI– Ardent supporters and sizable volunteer
base
• Core Values:– Bearing witness– Non-violence– Independence– No permanent friends or foes– Promoting solutions
Stakeholder|Greenpeace
Source: Greenpeace
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• In 2010: Unemployment near 20% in Prineville, OR
• Facebook data center to revitalize state economy– Future employment
opportunities– Business immigration
Stakeholder|Oregon
Source: Google Maps
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Motivations• Significant growth in
operations since 2004; needs expansion
• Invested $188 million in Prineville, Oregon data center
• Designed to save operating costs – Location’s suitable climate,
renewable energy resources, available land, regional workforce, and supportive business environment.
• Employment to chronically unemployed region of Oregon
Drawbacks
• Greenpeace’s continued propaganda against Facebook and its Prineville facility
• Potential loss of corporate image and users
Analysis|Facebook
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Motivations• Continued efforts to
reduce use of coal as power source
• Technology companies with similar needs following Facebook’s data center design
• Publicize organization
Drawbacks• Possible negative
public perception from strong-arming Facebook into compliance – Loss of supporters, loss
of future donations– Contrary to core values
• Possible Facebook retaliation
Analysis|Greenpeace
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• Defer negotiation with Greenpeace until “Unfriend Coal” reaches a satisfiable and non-damaging exposure level
• Provides Facebook time to develop an informed and concrete negotiation plan
Negotiation Strategy
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• Strategy: mutual cooperation with focus on optimizing results– Facebook to assist Greenpeace in increasing
awareness of environmental issues and advocating clean energy• Free advertising space on its site and relevant
user data for Greenpeace– Greenpeace to provide essential research and
solution development needed to increase energy efficiency of the Prineville data center• Resources for affordable, reliable, and coal-free
alternatives to PacifiCorp
Cooperative Specialization
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• Facebook and Greenpeace greatly benefit from each other’s strengths without compromising their values, wallets, or reputations
• Positive residual impact on Oregon– Employment opportunities– Expansion of technology
industry
Cooperative Specialization | Benefits
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Image Source: Facebook