Over the years , The Nature Conservancy has faced a number of criticisms . They fall into the following main categories : The Nature Conservancy has ties to many large companies , including those in the oil , gas , mining , chemical and agricultural industries . Its board of directors currently includes the retired chairman of Duke Energy , and executives from Merck , HP , Google and several financial industry groups . It also has a Business Council which it describes as a consultative forum that includes Bank of America , BP America , Chevron , Coca-Cola , Dow Chemical , Duke Energy , General Mills , Royal Dutch Shell , and Starbucks . The organization faced criticism in 2010 from supporters for its refusal to cut ties with BP after the Gulf oil spill
Gulf oil spill
Deepwater Horizon oil spill
The Nature Conservancy