Salesforce employees are unhappy with the company’s plans to enter the non-fungible token (NFT) market. According Thomson Reuters Foundation, more than 400 officials worldwide signed an open letter raising concerns about the environmental impact of NFTs, as well as their “unregulated and highly speculative” nature as financial assets. “The amount of scams and fraud in the NFT space is overwhelming,” the officials wrote.
The company, the San Francisco-based cloud software company that owns Slack, told its employees in early February that it is planning a series of initiatives related to NFT. These include the launch of an NFT cloud that can help people create NFTs and list them on the markets. NFTs have exploded in popularity in the past year, and big companies are cashing in on the craze. While not all ventures have been successful, some have made a lot of money: Adidas, for example, made $23 million during its first NFT drop.
That said, NFTs remain controversial for a number of reasons, including their environmental impact. It takes a lot of energy to sustain the blockchain activities associated with tokens. One I estimated supported by researchers place an average NFT footprint on more than 200 kilos of carbon, which is equivalent to driving 500 miles in a gasoline-powered car. Salesforce employees’ concerns about the tokens’ environmental impact stem from the company’s positioning itself as a leader in sustainable businesses — it even released a Superbowl ad starring Matthew McConaughey emphasizing its commitment to sustainability.
A Salesforce spokesperson said Thomson Reuters that the company appreciates “the feedback from employees and [is] proud to promote a culture of trust that enables them to raise diverse points of view.” They also said the company will hold a listening session with employees next week.
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