For immediate release

27th May 2019

On 22nd April 2019, a letter appeared in The Times announcing XR Business. It was signed by twenty leaders and former leaders of businesses, as well as by two Extinction Rebellion (XR) people in the UK, Gail Bradbrook, co-founder, and Fiona Ellis. The project aimed to partner in some way with business in addressing the planetary challenges we all face. It also published a website (which has been since taken down).

This happened in some haste in a particularly busy time, without full consideration by colleagues in XR UK and without the consent or awareness of any in the wider XR community. Extinction Rebellion is now a global movement with over 340 local groups in about 50 countries on all inhabited continents.

On hearing the news of XR Business, many within the global XR community immediately expressed deep upset. Many XR groups around the world hold XR to be a radical grassroots movement of people and oppose this business initiative taking the name of XR. Not only does XR not support or endorse any corporations, it reminds them that the Extinction Symbol ⧖⃝ may never be used for commercial purposes, including fundraising. The Extinction Symbol is loaned in good faith to XR by UK street artist ESP.

Views on business and our economic system vary within XR. It is likely that most of us would agree that there are some fundamental issues with the relationship between our legal and economic system that govern the operation of business and the destruction and pollution of our natural world. Therefore many members of XR are justifiably concerned about association with business and such association should be approached with extreme care, which it wasn’t in this case.

With that said, dialogue with business, as with all sectors of society, will be necessary for our demands to be met. This is something in the remit of citizen assemblies. Once set up, these will foster and manage such dialogue independently. Until then, business can of course work towards similar goals as we have, but do so as a separate endeavour.

Following the re-establishment of this position, it was agreed that the XR Business website be taken down immediately and XR Business cancelled as an XR project, those involved have decided to take a more independent path in support of similar goals.

Extinction Rebellion apologises for the slip-up in communication and coordination. We hope people can understand that the last thing we would wish to do is to cause upset. We wish to reassure that our intention is for Extinction Rebellion to move forward in a clearer, more unified international representation.

This announcement has been shared on our social media to correct any earlier mistakes.

With love, gratitude and rage,

Gail Bradbrook

Extinction Rebellion
Co-Founder
Movement Strategy and Finance teams (UK)