guardian.co.uk,Suzanne Goldenberg in Washington and Dominic Rushe in New York, Wednesday 15 February 2012
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| Microsoft, which says it is committed to acting on climate change, said the $59,908 donation was to provide free software licences to non-profits. Photograph: Michael Yang/Rex Features |
A
libertarian thinktank devoted to discrediting climate change received funds
from corporations such as Microsoft and General Motors that are publicly
committed to social responsibility, leaked documents reveal.
The inner
workings of the Heartland Institute were laid bare on Tuesday night when an
"insider" emailed confidential documents detailing its strategy and
fundraising network to DeSmogBlog, which monitors industry efforts to discredit
climate science.
Much of
Heartland's work to discredit climate change is funded by a single anonymous
donor, the papers reveal. However, a 2012 fundraising plan also indicated that
Heartland has in the past received funds from a host of major corporations for
other projects – including companies that publicly support action on climate
change.
Along with
tobacco giants Altria and Reynolds America, and drug firms GlaxoSmithKline,
Pfizer and Eli Lilley, major corporations have given over $1.1m in the past two
years to the institute, and are planning to give another $705,000 this year.
Some of the
companies included on Heartland's list of donors were surprising. Bill Gates,
the founder of Microsoft, has vigorously promoted clean energy in a number of
speeches, and his charitable foundation works on helping farmers in the
developing world, who will be badly affected by climate change.
But
Microsoft donated $59,908 to Heartland to run a telecommunications newsletter
in 2011. It is expected, however, to donate only $10,000 this year, the
fundraising document shows.
Microsoft
said the donation to Heartland was part of a global programme to provide free
software licences to non-profits. "As part of that programme, the
organisation requested free software licenses, and Microsoft provided them,
just like we do for thousands of other eligible non-profits every year,"
Katie Stainer, a spokeswoman for Microsoft said in a statement.
"Microsoft's
position on climate change remains unchanged. Microsoft believes climate change
is a serious issue that demands immediate, worldwide attention and we are acting
accordingly. We are pursuing strategies and taking actions that are consistent
with a strong commitment to reducing our own impact as well as the impact of
our products.
"In
addition, Microsoft has adopted a broad policy statement on climate change that
expresses support for government action to create market-based mechanisms to
address climate change."
A
spokeswoman for GSK said the $50,000 the company donated in the last two years
was for a healthcare initiative. She could not comment on whether GSK would be
working with Heartland in the future.
She said:
"GSK absolutely does not endorse or support the Heartland Institute's
views on the environment and climate change. We have in the past provided a
small amount of funding to support the Institute's healthcare newsletter and a
meeting."
General
Motors Foundation, which is committed to social responsibility, has also made
modest donations to Heartland, contributing $15,000 in 2010 and 2011, though
for projects other than climate science.
There was no
immediate response from the foundation, but GM itself defended its $30,000
donation. Greg Martin, GM's director of policy and Washington communications,
said: "We support a variety or organisations that give careful and
considerate thought to complex policy issues and Heartland is one of
them."
He said
GM's cash was not donated for a specific programme.
Diageo, the
drinks company which owns Smirnoff, Johnnie Walker and Baileys, said its
funding of Heartland was not under review. It gave $10,000 over the last two
years, according to the leaked papers, and was projected to give another
$10,000 this year.
A
spokeswoman said the money had been given for a project on excise duty and the
company did not agree with Heartland's views on climate change.
The leaked
documents provide an intriguing view of the inner workings of an organisation
that has been at the forefront of undermining climate change, and suggest
Heartland is on the cusp of a fundraising blitz.
The plan
proposes raising revenues by a staggering 170% this year, to $7.7m. Heartland
proposes to do this in part by hiring a direct mail firm that has been
prominent in Republican election campaigns. The firm Griswold & Griswold
Inc promised to expand Heartland's donor list tenfold from 1,800 to 18,000
within the year.
But the
cache raises an equal number of questions – such as the identity of an
anonymous donor that has been a mainstay of Heartland. The unnamed donor, who
contributed $4.6m in 2008, has since scaled back contributions. Even so, the
donor's $979,000 contribution in 2011 accounted for 20% of Heartland's overall
budget, the fundraising plan says
According to the fundraising document, Heartland hopes to bump that up to $1.25m in 2012.
Related Articles:
The inside story on climate scientists under siege
Leaked files expose Heartland Institute's secrets
Leaked files expose Heartland Institute's secrets
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| (Photo: RNW) |
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