Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington on the double game of large consulting firms in the context of government projects to reduce emissions
“Large consulting firms often play a double game: They advise, for example, both the largest CO2 emitters and governments with the mandate to reduce national emissions, or they audit the accounts of a large main contractor while applying for similar contracts as this one, or they contribute to national tax laws and at the same time advise clients on how to circumvent them. For democratic societies, it is important that companies and government agencies – and their employees – know the conflicts of interest of other parties when they enter into a contract with them. Only in this way can these be worked on and defused, if possible. The client may assess the risk that a conflict of interest undermines the potential for value creation as so high that awarding a contract to a particular company or consortium is no longer worthwhile, even if it appears to meet the requirements.”
– Mariana Mazzucato and Rosie Collington in “The Big Consulting Show – How the Consulting Industry Weakens Our Companies, Undermines the State and Appropriates the Economy”, Campus Verlag Frankfurt/New York, 2023, page 264
