Concerns over Drax's sustainability claims revealed in court documents.
The UK's largest power plant, Drax, had been assured by its senior executives that it was meeting environmental standards when it publicly denied allegations of cutting down forests to fuel its operations.
Senior executives at the North Yorkshire-based power station raised concerns internally about the validity of their sustainability claims while publicly denying allegations made in a BBC Panorama documentary. The documentary claimed that Drax had been burning wood sourced from "old-growth" forests in Canada.
Drax's CEO, Will Gardiner, was accused by former employee Rowaa Ahmar of trying to cover up concerns raised by staff about the lack of evidence supporting the company's claims.
A tribunal heard that Drax did not have sufficient data to prove the exact origin of its wood pellets, meaning it could not guarantee that its biomass was sustainable and legal under government requirements.
Gardiner denied this, stating that he had been advised by his head of corporate affairs that the documentary would "not have a significant impact or fallout" but that after the revelations the company called an emergency meeting as it faced questions both from within Drax and externally.
The UK's largest power plant, Drax, had been assured by its senior executives that it was meeting environmental standards when it publicly denied allegations of cutting down forests to fuel its operations.
Senior executives at the North Yorkshire-based power station raised concerns internally about the validity of their sustainability claims while publicly denying allegations made in a BBC Panorama documentary. The documentary claimed that Drax had been burning wood sourced from "old-growth" forests in Canada.
Drax's CEO, Will Gardiner, was accused by former employee Rowaa Ahmar of trying to cover up concerns raised by staff about the lack of evidence supporting the company's claims.
A tribunal heard that Drax did not have sufficient data to prove the exact origin of its wood pellets, meaning it could not guarantee that its biomass was sustainable and legal under government requirements.
Gardiner denied this, stating that he had been advised by his head of corporate affairs that the documentary would "not have a significant impact or fallout" but that after the revelations the company called an emergency meeting as it faced questions both from within Drax and externally.
And it's crazy that they were denying allegations on TV and then later had to call an emergency meeting because people were asking too many questions. It just goes to show how important it is for companies to be honest about what they're doing... I mean, we all want to know the truth, right? 
? like, they're just flying around collecting nectar, right? but noooo, their honey is literally the cause of so many allergic reactions! 
i mean, can't we just appreciate them for being adorable little creatures or something? instead of being like "oh no, my skin is breaking out because of that honey" 
anyway, back to drax... i feel bad for those former employees who spoke up, but also like, what's the point of having a tribunal if they're just gonna let the CEO spin it? 
. It's crazy that they were hiding the fact that they couldn't prove where their wood pellets came from - it sounds like a recipe for disaster!
. Guess you can take the boy from accounting and put 'em in charge, huh? 
I'm not surprised to hear about Drax's sustainability claims being called out. It's like, how can we trust a big corporation when they don't even have solid data to back up their own statements? 
.
they're literally burning old-growth forests in Canada for energy... how can you deny allegations like that? The CEO's response just sounds so dodgy, "no significant impact" yeah right 
and the lack of data on where their wood pellets come from? huge red flag 
! I always thought they were trying to be all green and stuff, but turns out they're just like every other big corp trying to save face 
. And the CEO's reaction is priceless - "not gonna impact much" and then suddenly the whole company is freaking out 
. This is exactly why we need more transparency and accountability in corporate sustainability efforts 
.
. I mean, how can you just deny allegations in court documents while publicly saying you're being super eco-friendly? It's all like a big ol' mess! And to think they were just trying to cover up concerns from their own staff... that's not cool at all 
. I guess it shows that even big companies can be caught off guard when people start digging deeper into their claims 
. We need more accountability like this in the industry! 
they're basically just burning down forests left and right and then trying to cover their tracks, meanwhile the rest of us are breathing in toxic fumes and wondering why we can't trust these companies anymore 
drax needs to take responsibility for its actions and start being honest with us about how much harm it's actually causing 
. This suggests a degree of introspection on the part of Drax's leadership, even if their statements have been somewhat evasive thus far. Ultimately, transparency and accountability will be crucial in addressing these concerns and restoring public trust in the company's sustainability efforts 
. i mean, they're saying one thing to the public and another thing internally. that's some shady stuff right there. and now we find out they don't even have enough data to prove where their wood pellets come from? how can you just keep pretending everything is cool when it's not? 
. On one hand, their top execs did seem pretty worried about the validity of their claims internally, which is kinda suspicious 
. But on the other hand, they've been publicly denying those same allegations for ages, and it's hard to believe that nobody in the company would ever just go along with a cover-up 
. But at the same time, I don't want to jump to conclusions and assume they're definitely involved in some shady forest-cutting business without more info 
. It makes sense that the CEO would want to cover up those concerns since they could've gotten in trouble with the government 
. But now they're facing questions from within and outside, which is good for transparency I guess 
. The thing that's got me worried though is what happens if we can't even keep track of where our wood comes from 
.
but apparently they were just winging it while publicly saying they're doing okay... meanwhile their senior execs are over here like "idk what we're talking about" internally 
. and then the BBC drops a doco and suddenly they're all like "oh no, we might be burning down forests!" 
. anyway, it's kinda fishy that Drax didn't have enough data to prove their claims... sounds like they were just trying to cover their tracks . anyhoo, gotta give credit where credit is due, the former employee who spoke out did some serious digging 
and the fact that they didn't have enough data to prove where their wood pellets were coming from is just wild 
It's not just about the forests, it's about how the whole thing goes down - all these execs in their high offices making claims they can't back up, and then trying to cover it up when people start asking questions. I mean, if you're gonna deny allegations of cutting down old-growth forests, at least have some solid proof that your biomass is actually coming from sustainable sources. It's like, be transparent or don't claim to be doing something you can't do! 
The fact that the CEO thought he could just call an emergency meeting and pretend everything was fine after the news broke tells me there's more going on beneath the surface than meets the eye... 