Yesterday saw the launch of Ben and Jerry's climate college, intended to train young ambassadors for climate change.

It's the initiative of two ice cream magnates who sold their company for an eye-poppingly large sum to Unilever some years ago.

So is it greenwash or a sound practical way forward? Delicious fresh [flavour of your choice] or nasty slushy mess made from the dubious parts of dead animals?

For some activists, the involvement of the mega-corporation Unilever will give the whole thing a slightly weird smell.

Next week, openDemocracy publishes four leading UK activists in a roundtable on why they think climate change campaigning to date has largely failed, and what to do about it.

Follow the discussion, and let others know your view in the forum.

When it comes to facts on the ground, can corporations make a more meaningful difference? Does Unilever, with its relatively progressive origins, declared commitment to improved management of marine resources and programme to reduce carbon emissions by 10% from 2002 levels by 2007, count for more than, say, Friends of the Earth? Do Toyota's hybrid cars - developed on hardnosed commerical grounds - count for more than a hundred Green Party manifestos?

Caspar Henderson