Time to Shell Out? Reflections on the RGS and Corporate Sponsorship

This paper reflects on lessons from the campaign against Shell’s sponsorship of the Royal Geographical Society in the mid-1990s, that took place in the aftermath of the execution of Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other activists from the Ogoni region of the Niger delta. It argues that the continuing relationship between a fossil fuel multinational company and the professional body representing British Geographers remains deeply problematic, and that there should be a renewed and concerted effort to end that relationship. It reflects on the lessons for an effective campaign of both the events of the 1990s, and the recent successful protest against Reed Elsevier’s involvement in the promotion of the arms trade.