Astroturfing

"Astroturf" is artificial grass. Astroturfing describes "formal PR campaigns that seek the create the impression of being spontaneous, grassroots behavior."

Care2.com, a green networking site, sends out frequent environmental newsletters with a mix of topics. One of them recently had a headline that linked to an article titled "Global warming is not due to human contribution of carbon dioxide." It was so provocative that I followed the link; in fact, it might have been more persuasive had it been more subtle. The link brought the reader to a full-length article at Canadafreepress.com written by Dr Tim Ball, Chairman of the Natural Resources Stewardship Project and a consultant and former climatology professor at the University of Winnipeg. His credentials sound impressive.

What is the Natural Resources Stewardship Project? It is apparently a group that has recently been exposed as being controlled by energy industry lobbyists. A short Wikipedia entry is here.

This would be an example of astroturfing.

Movie Event; Greenwashing; 'Fool' Efficiency

Yesterday's film event, The Corporation, had a great turnout. Thank you to the over fifty Hankeiters who attended and for the Student Union for supporting the event.

On to concepts. What is greenwashing all about? When companies want to appear as more ecofriendly (and one could also argue CSR oriented) than they really are, then they are "greenwashing." The Oxford English Dictionary defines the term as “disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image.” The term is considered pejorative.

Some examples of companies allegedly involved in greenwashing include ExxonMobil (or Esso in Finland); the company is the subject of an article in the Guardian earlier this month. ExxonMobil has presented a very critical and conservative view of the role of carbon dioxide emissions in climate change. The company has now admitted it has a PR problem that needs to be dealt with. This, however, is not likely to result in strategic changes.

Other alleged greenwashers are listed in a short article about America's ten worst greenwashers.

Strategic change might, however, just pay off. Where companies are being washed green, perhaps they ought to just change, because the consequence of holding on to the status quo may not be so pretty. This is evident in the fate of one of the world's biggest brands and largest automakers, Ford Motor Co. Number one in the above greenwasher list, Ford is really struggling, having just announced its worst financial results ever: in fiscal 2006, Ford lost an average of $1,925 for every car or truck it sold, a total of 12.7 billion dollars. U.S. consumers have been shunning Ford vehicles, because they have the lowest fuel effiency levels in the market. With oil prices continually rising, the decline in demand is likely to continue. Unless Ford actually changes its strategy and begins to respond to consumer demands for more fuel-efficient vehicles, it is evident that it is placing its brand and financial future at risk.