The Ultimate Guide to Greenwash Your Brands

“All men are frauds.

The only difference between them is that some admit it.

I myself deny it.�

-H L Mencken

My Dearest Friends of the Corporate World, Welcome to Greenwasing.

GREEN.WASH | What Again?

Disinformation disseminated by an organization, etc., so as to present an environmentally responsible public image; a public image of environmental responsibility promulgated by or for an organization, etc., but perceived as being unfounded or intentionally misleading.

—Oxford English Dictionary

GREEN.WASH | Why Should We? 1. Consumer demand for more environmentally responsible products is growing = Money.

2 Sales of environmentally oriented products have increased = More money.

3. Demand remains strong despite the economic downturn = Great business opportunity.

4. Regulation and government action is pending = It’s time to hire some lobbyists.

5. There are generally not industrywide standards for communicating environmental messages = So we can easily get away with :) 6. Did we mention more money?

Let’s now turn the page and study the 7 most successful methods and real-life case studies in greenwashing. Opportunities are yours to lose now. Seize the day!

You won’t regret it.

Source: Google Keywords = Understanding and Preventing Greenwash: A Business Guide.

I’m Mister Greenwash, the most knowledgable Greenwash guru on earth, by the way.

Y’Know, Black is kinda Sexy

1

Lung

Real-life practice!

GE | Sexy Miners As the spot begins, we hear Tennessee Ernie Ford’s “Sixteen Tons” and see shadowy figures, identifiable only by their helmet lights, walking into a coal mine.

(The helmet light, like the physician’s reflector, remains indispensable to commercials that don’t have a lot of time for explanations.) At first, this ad looks like a paean to labor - the song after all, is a workingman’s lament - and we see several strong and stylized male figures that bring to mind W.P.A. murals. But soon the hot female miners appear, carefully soiled and seductively oiled up. The commercial, we see, is visually indistinguishable from a Victoria’s Secret ad, right down to the blue filters and hubba-hubba slow motion.

And that’s the point: “Thanks to emissions-reducing technology from G.E. energy,” an amiable narrator tells us, “harnessing the power of coal is looking more beautiful every day.” For G.E., it’s a simple setup and punch line. Jonathan Klein, a company spokesman, said, “In ‘Model Miners,’ the goal is to communicate that G.E.’s emission-reducing technology can make coal a more appealing energy source.”

From: http://www.grist.org/article/mining-sex-to-sell-coal/ Watch: Youtube keywords = Model Miners - GE

It’s only Words, Words are all I h

2

“I think it’s time we agree on what people demand of us.”

“That oil companies should put their profits into good use?”

“That they should get behind the development of renewable energies?”

“Yes, we agree.”

“Absolutely! We couldn’t agree more.”

, and have.

“Yes, we agree.”

Real-life practice!

Chevron | We Agree Chevron Corporation (NYSE: CVX) today launched a new global advertising campaign titled “We Agree.”

The campaign highlights the common ground Chevron shares with people around the world on key energy issues.

It also describes the actions the company takes in producing energy responsibly and in supporting the communities where it operates.

“We hear what people say about oil companies – that they should develop renewables, support communities, create jobs and protect the environment – and the fact is, we agree,” said Rhonda Zygocki, vice president of Policy, Government and Public Affairs at Chevron.

“This campaign demonstrates our values as a company and the greater value we provide in meeting the world’s demand for energy. There is a lot of common ground on energy issues if we take the time to find it... ...Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company’s success is driven by the ingenuity and commitment of its employees and their application of the most innovative technologies in the world...”

“Wow, and how about this: Oil companies need to get real?”

From: http://www.chevron.com/chevron/pressreleases/article/10182010_chevronlaunchesnewglobaladvertisingcampaignweagree. news Watch: www.chevron.com/weagree : http://chevronthinkswerestupid.org/ “Well, sir. ‘We agree’ doesn’t mean that we have to actually do them...”

Because We really our Clients to be ‘G

3

“Behold! The All-New ‘Ogilvy Earth’ guide to Green Marketing.”

y want Green’.

Real-life practice!

Ogilvy | Ogilvy Earth What has the power to destroy brand reputation, undermine a movement, alienate customers and estrange a loyal workforce? A greenwashed ad. Far as sustainability marketing has come in the last decade, the Greenwash Monster is still lurking, and it’s time we got rid of it once and for all. In partnership with our Advisory Board, OgilvyEarth put together this best practices guidebook to steer brands through the challenging terrain of sustainability marketing. The rewards that await – enhanced reputation, inspired customers and invigorated employees - make all the effort worthwhile.

From: http://www.ogilvyearth.com/greenwash

Old Marketing Guidebook

Ogilvy PR is providing social media counsel to BP, as the company continues to deal with the gulf coast oil spill crisis.

Ogilvy PR was part of the Ogilvy & Mather team behind BP’s “Beyond Petroleum” re-branding campaign. The case study for that campaign is still listed on the agency’s website. Ogilvy PR told PRNewser on May 5th that the agency was no longer working with BP.

“Hi, BP... Ha ha yeah, green is kinda cool, I’ll keep it for a while.

So, how do you like our new PR?”

A source at the agency now tells PRNewser that BP hired Ogilvy PR for social media help “three weeks ago.” The agency is also working on Deepwater Horizon Response, the official website where BP and other organizations involved in the disaster have been releasing information.

Read in full: http://www.mediabistro.com/prnewser/ogilvy-pr-handling-social-media-for-bp_b3855

Coal is Clean, a Ignorance is Bl

4

! t we lking about! a h w s This i hould be tababy, yeah s all is future, This

CCS applied to a modern conventional power plant could reduce CO2 emissions to the atmosphere by approximately

80-90%

compared to a plant without CCS.

Capturing and compressing CO2 requires much energy and would increase the fuel needs of a coal-fired plant with CCS by

25%-40%

“CCS battle help gerou

- United Program

Tom and Jerry

The US Department of Energy (US DOE capture systems will almost double plan electricity price hikes of anywhere betwe CO2 emission source

CO2 separation and capture

Storag Tank

CO2 path

Cap rock, Impermeable layer

The IEA estimates that for CCS to deliver any meaningful climate mitigation effect 6000 projects each injecting a million tonnes of CO2 per year into the ground wou required. At the moment, it is not clear that it will be technically feasible to captur this much carbon, i.e. whether there are enough storage sites, or that they will be enough to power plants.

Hush, baby, hush.

http://www.ipcc.ch / http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_capture_a http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/publications/reports/fa

and liss.

skip let’s , doesn’t , h a N ads. umber this n ood on my look g

S will arrive on thein time! just efield far too late to the world avoid danus climate change.”

d Nations Development mme (hereafter “UNDP”), 2007

My mom knows better!

E) calculates that installing carbon nt costs. This will lead to een 21 and 91%. only 5 and 10%

ge k

CO2 Injection Pumo and evaporator

Storage

ts by 2050, uld be re and bury located close

...

and_storage alse-hope/

Real-life practice!

ACCCE | Clean Coal We’re Committed to a Clean Energy Future With Coal Perhaps Energy Secretary Steven Chu said it best when he said: “Charting a path toward clean coal is essential to achieving our goals of providing clean energy, creating American jobs, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. It will also help position the United States as a leader in the global clean energy race.”

We share the Obama administration’s commitment.

As an industry, we are committed to a clean energy future with coal – and that future involves the use of advanced technologies to further reduce emissions including the capture and safe storage of CO2.

We have a long history of deploying clean coal technologies to reduce air emissions – while at the same time providing affordable, reliable electricity to meet growing energy needs.

Because of those continued investments in clean coal technology, new coal plants built today have greater than 90 percent removal for SO2, NOx and mercury.

It’s that same innovation in technology that the industry is using to bring another new generation of advanced clean coal technologies to the marketplace as a cost-effective solution to meeting climate change concerns... ...Continued innovations require funding, but studies show we’ll see a return on our investments. An American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity-funded study (PDF) entitled “DOE Clean Coal Technology Programs Offer Highest Return on Investment” reports that by 2020, American taxpayers will see a return of $13 for every dollar the government invests in these technologies.

From : http://www.cleancoalusa.org/clean-coal-technology

The Art of Dive Attentions.

5

MES MORNING TI

BP IS BAD!

GREEN STATION

33 18 34 15 35 09

erting

Real-life practice!

BP | Helio House At the corner of Olympic and Robertson in Los Angeles, you’ll find a new kind of gas station. It isn’t like an ordinary gas station.

We started with the typical, everyday station on that corner and renovated it in an eco-friendly way — a little greener in its design and materials and in its use of water and energy.

It’s not a prototype “station of the future.” It’s a station for today that’s a little better, a living lab where we can try out ideas for other stations and where people can find ideas they might want to bring into their own lives.

It’s a kind of a conversation between BP and people who come into the station, a conversation about how we can both move up a notch on the greencurve.

This idea grew out of BP’s commitment to balancing society’s need for energy with a responsible approach to the environment. It reflects our belief that small steps in the right direction can make a difference.

ME MORNING TI GREEN STATION

18

33 15 34

S

BP IS! GOOD

From: http://www.bp.com/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=2222 &contentId=7028375

Whatever mak You feel Green.

6

-33%

kes .

Real-life practice!

Arrowhead | Ecoshaped Bottle Sip smarter.

At Arrowhead® Brand Mountain Spring Water, we’re committed to providing our customers (you) with healthful beverages. But sometimes making a difference isn’t just about what we put into the bottle. Sometimes, it is what we take out.

-30%

The recyclable Arrowhead Half Liter Eco-Shape® bottle is not only less impactful on the environment, it’s purposely designed to be easy to carry and hold. And because it’s lighter, it requires less energy to make – resulting in a reduction of CO2 emissions.

Our Eco-Shape® Bottle... + is made with an average of 30% less plastic versus comparable size carbonated and non-carbonated beverages.* + features a label approximately one-third smaller than our previous label. + is easy to carry. + is recyclable and flexible so it’s easier to crush.

From: http://www.arrowheadwater.com/DoingOurPart/EcoShapeBottle.aspx

Because Every Loves ‘Earth’s D

7

R YOU O LOG E R HE

“How green can I be?”

“How much ‘green’ do you have?”

http://www.cincinnatiearthday.com/Sponsorship.html

ybody Day’ 10,000 $ Global Conservationist

5,000 $ Ecosystem Guardian

2,500 $ Habitat Defender

1,000 $ Endangered Species Protector

500 $ Supporter

250 $ Advocate

Real-life practice!

Earth Day | Sponsors Tomorrow is the 40th anniversary of Earth Day, always a good time to reflect on the significant progress we’ve made and the work we still need to do.

We’re not the only ones who like to celebrate Earth Day. Corporations have a PR bonanza, outdoing themselves in an effort to buy themselves a green image they don’t deserve.

In this week’s Greenwash of the Week webisode we take a look at some of the most ludicrous examples of corporations greenwashing Earth Day. Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) sponsors Earth Day Canada.

RBC is also the top financier of tar sands, called ‘the most destructive project on Earth.’ Alberta’s tar sands projects will eventually transform a Boreal forest the size of England into an industrial sacrifice zone complete with lakes full of toxic waste and man-made volcanoes spewing out clouds of global warming emissions.

Chevron and PG&E are headlining one of California’s largest Earth Day events, while being the state’s most powerful polluters and spending obscene amounts to pass bad environmental policy.

Idaho Falls’ Earth Day event is sponsored by Cargill – the agribusiness giant whose rampant palm oil expansion in Indonesia is destroying precious rainforest, killing orangutans, and posing a serious threat to our climate.

In Cincinnati corporations like Toyota and the coal company Duke Energy have bought themselves nifty environmental titles like ‘Habitat Defender.’ Seriously.

It’s like Walmart sponsoring labor day or Tiger Woods sponsoring a Valentine’s Day float.

Enjoy the webisode! And consider celebrating Earth Day by taking action to fight against corporate control of our energy future.

From: http://itsgettinghotinhere.org/2010/04/21/greenwash-of-theweek-earth-day/ Watch: Youtube Keywords = Greenwash of the Week Earth Day Sponsorships

“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without defeat.”

-Sun Tzu

Okay, folks. Last but not least, while greenwashing can greatly benefit our brands and products, there are always two sides of every stories. There are some people out there that are... let’s say... jealous of our filthy wealth, so they try to blow our cover with every possible opportunities they have. Yet fear not, I have compiled a list of those jealous people and information on who they are and what they do, so we best know how to avoid them. Until next time then. Hail to Greenwashing!

The Deadly Six Avertising Standards Authority The ASA is the UK’s independent watchdog committed to maintaining high standards in advertising for the benefit of consumers, advertisers and society at large. Avoid being exposed by these people since it will bring nasty reputation into your brands. Visit their websites to learn about the regulations, so we know how to avoid them. http://www.asa.org.uk/

Corpwatch Non-profit investigative research and journalism to expose corporate malfeasance and to advocate for multinational corporate accountability and transparency. They work to foster global justice, independent media activism and democratic control over corporations.

They also have deep information on greenwashing history if needed. http://www.corpwatch.org/

Greenpeace Possibly the most well-known enemy of all, Greenpeace is a non-governmental environmental organization with networks in over 40 countries, and they recently have created a dedicated website to watchdog all greenwashing activities: http://stopgreenwash.org. It’s clever to visit it from time to time to see what they are up to!

The Yes Men These two are real pain in the ass. The Yes Men are a culture jamming activist duo consisting of Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno.

Their actions are very agressive as they are very good at hiding their identities and able to infiltrate by becoming one of us without being noticed. They also have a good range of connections within activists. Without them, Chevron’s ‘We Agree’ would have been more successful! http://theyesmen.org

Rainforest Action Network (RAN) Dubbed “some of the most savvy environmental agitators in the business” by the Wall Street Journal, RAN uses hard-hitting markets campaigns to align the policies of multinational corporations with widespread public support for environmental protection. They have a dedicate Youtube show called: Greenwash of the Week. My least favorite show so to say. http://understory.ran.org/tag/greenwash-ofthe-week/

Guardian UK The Guardian is one of the very few British national daily newspapers which has a dedicate sections on environments, and they are working in this area very actively. Fool them, and you’ll get a good attention around the world as a good green corporate, but be ware in countering one of their bloggers, they can be pretty aggressive on issues, espicially if you are in the UK. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/

The Ultimate Guide to Greenwash Your Brands This booklet is designed as the final project for Information Design class for MA Graphic Design students at School of Arts and Design (TaiK), Aalto University, Helsinki. The brief was to provide information design on climate change topic.

Concept and Layout Design: Sarun Pinyarat pinyarat.s@me.com www.pinyarats.org Tutors: Tapio Vapaasalo Jonatan HildĂŠn Juuso Koponen Tommi Kovala Helsinki 2011