Greenwash – are the public being bamboozled?
by Angus, 26 February, 2020, 0 comments
Greenwashing is when a company spends more effort on saying how environmentally friendly they are rather than actually reducing the environmental damage they do. Examples could include the recent claims made by Easyjet that they are already carbon neutral or the target by BP to become carbon neutral by 2050. The Easyjet claim smells a bit like like fake news but at least they have pledged to spend £25 million over the next year on offsetting their carbon emissions - it's hard to see how even that can compensate for their 331 planes flying around the world 24/7. BP's claim is easier to make because it's only a target for the year 2050 - "it's easy to write a cheque if you know it won't be cashed for 30 years" and, in any case, it's rather unlikely that the current board will be in place in 30 years' time. So, putting aside these particular claims, why do big companies engage in such extravagant claims, and are they really just greenwash? Read more...
