From animism to naturalistic pantheism, there are various belief systems that deify the natural world. But should a fervent belief in the need to fight climate change be given the same legal protection as an actual religion? A London judge said yes, ruling this week that environmentalism should carry the same legal weight as religion under Britain's employment laws.

The case involved Tim Nicholson, 42, who was laid off last year from his job as head of sustainability at Grainger Plc, Britain's largest residential-property company. Nicholson contended he was laid off because his views on the environment were not shared by Grainger executives, and he sued the company for unfair dismissal under Britain's six-year-old Religion and Belief Regulations, which make it unlawful to discriminate against a person on the grounds of their religious or philosophical beliefs.

Read the complete article here:  http://www.time.com/time/business/article/0,8599,1936074,00.html#ixzz0WT...

Our opinion:

This is a very interesting ruling which can be seen as a success for the environmentalists and everyone working in the Sustainability field.

This also addresses a big problem in the professional sustainability field and its employees  working in the Sustainability /CSR / Environment department. What do you do when you feel something is being done that is not true to the companies Sustainability policies, etc? Tim Nicholson did what we all should do. Speak up and make yourself heard.

In his case this was the example that Nicholson ran afoul of executives when he complained that the CEO had ordered an employee to fly from London to Ireland to deliver a BlackBerry he had left behind. What a ridicules practice by the CEO.

Tim Nicholson, you can be applauded for what you have done.

Picture Credit: DerrickT