Throughout my project, I've run across a number of organizations that contributed to greenwashing in some way. But, which companies are the baddest offenders of them all? I came across two lists, one from Web Ecoist and one from 24/7 Wall St., that each presented their perspectives on the worst offenders. Interestingly enough, the two lists had 5 companies in common. I'll cover these five organizations and talk about why they've gotten such a strong reputation for greenwashing.
BP (British Petroleum)
Why They're An Offender: Let's start with the initials BP, which also stand for "Beyond Petroleum," a slogan created in 2000 to accompany their $200 million rebranding campaign. For more than a decade, BP has tried to convince their customers that they're making an effort to reduce their carbon footprint and become more sustainable. Watch this ad on finding new sources of energy:
But, are they actually doing the work? Yes and no. While they're putting some energy into developing other sources of energy, they're vastly over-representing that work in their ads. Basically, they're claiming to be far greener than they actually are. A study conducted by Greenpeace in 2009 determined that BP spends 93% of its investment fund on the development and extraction of oil, gas, and other fossil fuels. Only 6.8% of their investment is devoted to alternative energies, including solar power, wind, wave, tidal, and biofuels. Another study indicated that they spent the same amount on green advertising in two years that they spent on six years of alternative energy research. BP also recently entered into a settlement with the EPA for violating The Clean Air Act. And, they spent $3 billion to buy into oil from the Alberta Tar Sands, where generating one barrel of oil creates about two-thirds of a ton of CO2. Overall, they paint a pretty picture, but don't have a lot to back up their claims.
General Motors
Why They're An Offender: Check out the ad above. In 2007, GM attempted to rebrand itself as a an environmentally-responsible car company by launching its "gas-friendly to gas-free" campaign with its best-selling line of Chevy models. The campaign highlighted five ways Chevrolet is "greening" its cars: increasing fuel efficiency, producing a vehicle that can run on E85 Ethanol, developing hybrids, developing plug-in hybrids, and fuel cells. In 2008, GM unveiled the Chevy Volt, the first so-called "electric" car. However, GM consistently retains the reputation of greenwasher because they bend the truth. Technically, the Volt does have a gasoline engine, but the company argues that the car isn't a hybrid because the engine powers the electric motor and not the wheels. GM has also begun advertising cars that run on ethanol, biofuel and fuel cells, but that technology is still very immature and likely won't be relevant until 2020. But, GM's biggest greenwashing problem is that while they're making an effort to develop sustainable technology, they're still responsible for putting gas-guzzling vehicles on the road. In 2007, a study was conducted that ranked GM as the second worst polluter out of eight major car companies and the largest manufacturer of cars that have 15 mpg or worse in city driving. Those stats have probably improved a bit in the last few years, but there's no denying that GM isn't as green as they claim.
Exxon Mobil
Why They're An Offender: Like BP, Exxon Mobil has launched an extensive advertising campaign to demonstrate their commitment to alternative energy and becoming more environmentally-friendly. Here's an example of one of those ads:
Exxon Mobil released a report in 2008 stating that they were working on developing technologies that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Some of their efforts included investing $100 million to improve natural gas technology, working with car makers to increase fuel economy by 30%, improving lithium-ion battery technology, and developing a hydrogen system to improve driving efficiency. But, while working on these improvements, Exxon Mobil has been caught with its hand in the cookie jar, so to speak. They've consistently funded the climate change denial industry, including the Heartland Institute and the Heritage Foundation, which collaborated with President Bush to discredit the EPA's efforts to fight climate change. Also, like BP, Exxon Mobil has recently been found to be in violation of The Clean Air Act. They're spending $300 million in the next ten years to research potential energy sources, which, in comparison to the $47 billion they spent from 2003 to 2006 to develop oil and gas, isn't a whole lot.
Aren't you excited to hear about the last two offenders? I'll cover those later this week!
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