It was supposed to be a glowing piece on Disney conservation efforts and the work of an ambitious young woman making the planet healthier. But a particular statistic in a Disney PR piece has people scratching their heads at just how little Disney actually supports conservation.
Magician Mickey Mouse via Disney Parks YouTube
If you drop in on Disney’s Animal Kingdom in Walt Disney World Resort, you’re likely to hear a great amount about how Disney works hard to conserve the planet. Messaging about the forests and jungles they’re saving, along with conservation efforts underway, are bountiful in Disney’s magical, zoological theme park. And while I’ve taken umbrage in the past with how Disney has touted solar panel farms as green, while they chop down vast wildlife habitats to put them in, I have to say that even I was surprised that Disney made a serious faux pas. Inside the article from Disney is a quote that I can’t really believe they ever intended to put out there. Surely someone must have made a mistake.
Since its founding in 1995, the DCF has contributed more than $125 million to wildlife conservation efforts in over half the countries around the world, benefitting more than 1,000 unique species. Casey and her fellow team members lead this vital work for the company as part of the ongoing mission of Disney Planet Possible. — LIFE at Disney
Frankly, I was shocked that Disney actually published the dollar amount they’ve been spending for wildlife conservation efforts. Let’s take a look at exactly how paltry this sum is.
Disney Worldwide Conservation Fund Official Logo and Art
First, to put it in context, Disney is estimated by Forbes to spend $50,000 each night at the Magic Kingdom on a single fireworks display for a single theme park. You’re going to want to remember that number — trust me.
Disney says that it has spent $125 million on wildlife conservation efforts… and I’m assuming that DCF is not funded wholly by Disney. I say that because the fund seems to allow anyone to donate to it and also may feature a matching-donation system in place where Disney will match employee contributions to some level. So even the $125 million total may not be solely from Disney. But that $125 million is spread out across 29 years… from 1995 until today. That comes out to be an average spend of only $4.3 million per year over the last 29 years to conserve wildlife in any way. We’re not told if that includes payments for staffing or overhead.
Let’s go back to the fireworks number now — and remember, it’s only for one theme park and one performance per evening. In less than three months, is would appear that Disney spends more on fireworks shows at a single theme park than they spend on wildlife conservation funds all year long. And that’s the best case scenario if Disney is the sole donor for the fund.
While donating any amount towards protecting wildlife is a wise and noble venture, one needs to consider just how big Disney is. Vast theme park resources, huge movie studios, animation studios, cruises, subsidiaries that would be giant corporations all of their own. And they only spend $4.3 million per year on an effort that they tout greatly as if they’re making a huge difference in the world. For me, I think that’s a lackluster amount. After all, that amount would mean that one man at the company, CEO Bob Iger, made about eight times more in compensation than the company would have spent (using our averages from above) on protecting wildlife. And frankly, that’s not a great look.
That’s why I’m rather surprised they put it in writing in the first place.
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