Ex-Greenpeace boss joins Monsanto PR firm
Date: 09-Jan-02
Country: USA
Eton-educated Melchett, who once led Greenpeace's campaign to stamp out
genetically modified crops, is to advise Burson-Marsteller's Corporate Social
Responsibility (CSR) unit on environmental issues, the PR company said on
Tuesday.
A hereditary peer who was axed from the House of Lords under the Labour
government's constitutional shake-up, Melchett was once charged with criminal
damage following an attack on a field of genetically modified maize.
He and 28 other protesters were later cleared of the charges in what Melchett
hailed as a legal landmark and a vindication of the organisation's policy on
genetically modified crops.
He retired as Greenpeace executive director in 2000 after more than 10 years at
the helm.
Burson-Marsteller said it hoped Melchett's extensive experience from his
Greenpeace days would help environmental lobby groups and companies in the
agricultural science sector communicate better.
"In my time at Greenpeace I saw the best and the worst of corporate sector's
activities and intend to put that experience to good use in this new role,"
Melchett said in a statement.