Why Salesforce’s NFT plans have employees fuming

Highlights

More than 400 Salesforce employees signed a petition against the company’s plans to enter the NFT market, citing the environmental concerns of NFTs as their reason.
Salesforce’s plans to enter the NFT market have reportedly shocked some employees, particularly after the company recently aired a Superbowl ad outlining its commitment to sustainability.
Employees have raised concerns about illegal activities, which unfortunately are a part of the NFT space, with countless instances of scams and fraud reported in the industry just in the past year.

Hundreds of Salesforce employees are taking a stand against the software giant’s plan to enter the NFT market.

Last week, Salesforce announced the launch of an NFT Cloud sales platform that lets users create and sell NFTs.

However, more than 400 Salesforce employees signed a petition against the company’s plans, citing the environmental concerns of NFTs as their reason.

Image Source: © Fizkes | Megapixl.com

Why are NFTs bad for the environment?

While the NFT market boomed in 2021, with their popularity only continuing to rise this year, the new technology has come under fire for its negative impact on the environment.

Non fungible tokens (NFTs) are unique digital files, which hold anything from art to videos and even tweets. They are created and held on several existing blockchains but the vast majority of NFTs exist on the Ethereum blockchain.

Currently, Ethereum’s mining practice follows a proof-of-work (PoW) protocol, which means high-powered computers must solve complex mathematical problems in order to release tokens or mint NFTs. These mining facilities often contain hundreds of these specialised, high-powered computers which use exceptional amounts of electricity on a daily basis. Hence, Ethereum’s blockchain uses up fossil fuels, leaving a significant carbon footprint.

What are Salesforce employees saying?

Salesforce’s plans to enter the NFT space have reportedly shocked some employees, particularly after the company recently aired a Superbowl ad outlining its commitment to sustainability.

The protest letter, which has been signed by over 400 employees, says that the company’s plan to enter the NFT market undermines the company’s core values of trust, customer success, innovation, equality, and sustainability.

Sustainability is one issue, but the employees have also raised concerns about illegal activity, which unfortunately is a part of the NFT space, with countless instances of scams and fraud reported in the industry just in the past year.

The possible consequences for Salesforce

If Salesforce does indeed go ahead with its plan to foray into the NFT space, employees of the company have said it could well result in “increased attrition”.

However, not all of Salesforce’s employees are against the company’s NFT plans, with some believing they can help guide the customers through the complications of the NFT space.

In response to the blowback, the company plans to hold a listening session where it will welcome feedback from concerned staff.

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