The perception of environmental consciousness is becoming increasingly valuable to firms and many are taking steps to promote their green business practices. Some observers, however, see this as little more than "greenwash" rather than substantive change:
It's Getting Crowded on the Environmental Bandwagon, by Claudia Deutsch, NY Times: Customers can't buy it. Shareholders can't invest in it. But a growing list of big-name companies appear to be spending ever-bigger chunks of their advertising budgets to promote it. A General Electric elephant, for one, high-stepped on national television right after the company introduced its Ecomagination line of products last May, dancing for joy at how G.E. is "in step with nature." It has been followed by four product-specific environmental ads and a spate of print ads...
Then there's BP... This month, BP set up an Alternative Energy unit, and it is now running two- and three-page ads in major newspapers devoted just to that. ... Even companies tarred as "dirty" by environmentalists are braving the inevitable catcalls and running green ads. Ford Motor ... often castigated by environmental groups for making gas guzzlers ... has been running advertisements promoting its planned lines of hybrid and flexible-fuel cars. ... And Exxon Mobil, which is still plagued by references to the Exxon Valdez oil spill ... has made environmental issues the cornerstone of the "advertorial" columns it pays to run on newspaper op-ed pages. ... And companies in all industries are trying to make socially conscious investors and customers comfortable about buying their products and shares. ...
Eileen Claussen, president of the Pew Center on Global Climate Change, a nonprofit group, said, "It seems that major corporations have finally decided that environmental consciousness is an important part of building their image and their brand." Some environmentalists are heartened by the spate of green advertising, as long as the hyperbole is tempered. "When BP says 'It's a Start,' it's acknowledging that even the positive steps they are taking are not enough, so we really can't criticize them for not doing more right away," said Michelle Chan-Fishel, program manager for green investments at Friends of the Earth. "In that sense, it's really a clever campaign."
Conversely, environmentalists do turn gimlet-eyed when they think a surfeit of boasts masks a dearth of action. "Too often, it's just greenwash," said Michael J. Brune, executive director for the Rainforest Action Network. "Sure, some companies can justifiably advertise their good actions," said Mr. Brune, mentioning G.E. "But too many," he said, "are seeking maximum accolades for minimum change. You look beyond the green sheen, and Ford's actions don't match its rhetoric." Ford, of course, takes umbrage at that. ...
Few companies will divulge the sums that they are devoting to green advertising, but they seem to be sizable. ... Even companies that normally shun self-laudatory environmental campaigns are making exceptions these days. Goldman Sachs ... ran $600,000 worth of newspaper ads ... promoting a gift of land it made in Chile's part of Tierra del Fuego, in partnership with the Wildlife Conservation Society. ... Alcan, the giant Canadian aluminum company, has also been breaking with its usual stay-mum tradition. ... Mr. Gagnier [senior vice president for corporate and external affairs] does not pretend that the ads ... will help Alcan sell more aluminum. His primary audience was internal. "Every time we survey our 70,000 employees, we hear that they want to be proud of our environmental leadership," he said. "Outsiders may not remember the Alcan ads a few months down the road, but our employees will remember them with pride."
