Green Tech Buyer

Greenwashing is a term used to describe advertising campaigns and product labeling that is made to look like a company is utilizing green technology or embracing environmentally friendly practices when in reality there is no positive impact. In some cases, the products themselves are even outright environmentally irresponsible. Here’s our list of the top 10 examples of greenwashing so far in 2010:

1. BP  - In case you somehow didn’t know…They’ve spent millions of dollars branding themselves as a green technology leader despite the fact they’re responsible for the biggest and most destructive oil spill in world history.

2. IBM – IBM has been running advertisements claiming that replacing computers twice as often as normal is somehow a best practice in green technology. These claims are completely untrue, as the proper disposal of retired PC’s has actually become a critical environmental concern.

3. Sara Lee – The company, known for their bread, ran advertisements for their new “Eco Grain,” claiming that the eco grain used in their bread is more sustainable than organic grain. This was a very bold claim - and as it turns out also very untrue. An organic industry watchdog called them out on their unjustified claims, causing Sara Lee to change the wording on their website and issue a clarification statement.

4. Malaysian Palm Oil – TV ads ran along with a promotional videos on the company’s website claiming that Malaysian palm oil has been sustainably produced since 1917. In truth, between 1985 to 2000, 87 percent of Malaysia’s deforestation resulted from the development of new palm oil plantations.

5. Southern Company – The coal company from the southeastern US ran advertisements this year promoting “clean coal.” Unfortunately, the conceptof clean coal is a myth, and Southern Company is better known for their notoriously high carbon dioxide emissions and ardent opposition to green technology innovations.

6. Shell – Shell ran a marketing campaign titled “Let’s Go” that promoted the idea of building a better energy future. Shell is using the marketing campaign to reposition themselves as an energy company, rather than an oil company. These advertisements imply that they are investing more money in green technologies than any other oil company, which is completely unsubstantiated, and they are continuing to drill for oil at an increasing pace, depleting environmental resources every day they drill across the world.

7. Suncor – The Canadian energy company ran ads earlier this year claiming to be using Canada’s oil sands to take action on environmental issues, such as clean energy alternatives. On the contrary, oil sands are one of the dirtiest sources of energy.

8. Ice Box Water – The water company promoted their new boxed water product as an “ecological alternative” to bottled water. The problem is that boxes of water aren’t any “greener” for the environment than bottles.

9. Chevron – The oil company initiated a PR campaign with the announcement of  “Project Brightfield,” a solar panel in California’s central valley. While investing in solar is certainly a part of green technology, all of the energy produced is going directly to power their Kern River Heavy Oil Extraction Facility, and heavy oil extraction is one of the most polluting types of oil extraction out there.

10. Lexus – The car company ran a series of commercials for their new Hybrids claiming they have the lowest CO2 emissions in their class. While this is a step in the right direction, their Hybrids still have worse highway fuel economy than the non-Hybrids.

The lesson to be learned is this: if a company seems to just be jumping on the “green bandwagon” instead of making a real commitment to green technologies, be wary and verify their claims. Their marketing campaign could just be an attempt at greenwashing.

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