Partnerships of international environmental organisations (IEOs) and polluters can have positive outcomes for the environment, but they can also result in an organisation greenwashing a polluting...Show morePartnerships of international environmental organisations (IEOs) and polluters can have positive outcomes for the environment, but they can also result in an organisation greenwashing a polluting company. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a leading IEO, is partnering with the oil giant Royal Dutch Shell, one of the biggest polluters worldwide. This study aims to determine whether the partnership makes a positive contribution to the environment or if the opposite is the case and IUCN is greenwashing Shell. Specifically it investigates the effectiveness of an IUCN–Shell project in the Niger Delta, which aims to improve Shell’s sustainability record in the area. As a result of the project, two reports were published which give recommendations on how to reach this aim. These reports are the substance of this study’s methodology, with a number of hypotheses testing their integrity, whether they had a positive effect and whether the absence of positive effects was criticized by IUCN. Methods which test the hypotheses are a summative content analysis, evaluating the content – and process-tracing, assessing the effects of the reports. The results showed that IUCN is greenwashing Shell, as the reports are biased, not transparent and the authors not independent. Furthermore, there was determined only a minor process and a lack of criticism by IUCN to Shell’s poor behaviour. The outcome of the study questions not only the legitimacy of IUCN as an IEO but also the overall system of global environmental governance in which these organisations operate and are entrusted with effecting a meaningful impact for the environment.Show less
