8. Greenwashing
 
Definition:
 
Greenwash is disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. Derivatives: greenwashing (n). Origin from green on the pattern of whitewash.  Tenth Edition of the Concise Oxford English Dictionary
 
What are some of the problems related to this issue?
 
There are clear examples of company's with the core (or main) business based primarily on an activity which has been identified as significantly contributing to environmental pollution or destruction that present themselves as environmentally responsible.  Oil and coal companies [i.e. bp and Oldcastle), whose products have been determined by UN scientists to be the largest source of man-made greenhouse gases, are by definition engaged in an environmentally unsustainable business, [are actively greenwashing]. Scientists tell us that each ton of coal or barrel of oil burned adds to the risk of dangerous climate change, which over 160 countries have pledged to prevent in an international treaty. In short, there is a fundamental contradiction between the environmental (and legal) requirement to reduce carbon dioxide (CO2), and the production and sale of increasing quantities of coal and oil, the main sources of CO2.  Similarly, forestry companies (i.e. International Paper, Georgia Pacific) which log in ancient forests, the richest terrestrial reservoirs of biodiversity on the planet, make it almost impossible to implement the commitments made by 165 countries to protect species in 1992 international Convention of Biological Diversity. Currently, it is estimated that 50-100 species become extinct each day, and forest clearing is a major contributer. This is another example of how a core business can be in fundamental contradiction with a sustainable environment.  Greenpeace

(greenwashing detection kit here)

<<top