Who Has the Upper Hand?

By promoting their misleading environmental sustainability efforts, companies are greenwashing their corporate image to hide their destructive business practices from the public. Companies try to focus the market’s attention on a tiny, so-called, positive achievement, so that consumers do not think to look any further and see what is truly happening behind the scenes. The misleading campaigns that the public are seeing all over social media and the news are leading to the people’s ignorance of not really knowing what is going on or what they are putting their money towards. The planet is paying a price when an abundance of propaganda is being advertised for people to see and believe.

An issue we are seeing with fossil fuel companies is not only their pollution, but also their donations to colleges who are conducting climate research. You would think that millions of dollars towards research is a positive contribution, but fossil fuel companies are doing it for their own advantage. These enormous donations to research groups do not go unnoticed so the companies specifically want the donations they made to be publicized so consumers think they are working towards a greener future, but sadly they are not. In a Yale Climate Connection interview, Bella Kumar, a Fossil Fuel research student at George Washington University, “funders can influence which topics are studied. And in some cases, they influence how results are framed, for example downplaying the negative impacts of burning fossil fuels.” So, while we continue to let fossil fuel companies donate to research projects that contradict their business, we continue to let them have the upper hand in what is actually allowed to be studied. Throwing money around is the easiest way for these companies to keep their harmful practices in the dark.

When people see positive promotions from their favorite companies saying that they are planning environmentally friendly efforts, the more greenwashing the companies are able to get away with. These companies are unleashing advertisements for their green campaigns with no actual concrete evidence to support it. By making vague claims saying that they have ambitions to move towards being net-zero, they are secretly granting themselves years of good grace until they return saying their ambitions failed. There is a difference between making a pledge about what you want to achieve, and taking meaningful actions that will actually take you there.

“Companies should be saying exactly how they’re going to reduce their emissions all the way to zero, if they have to rely on offsets — where are those offsets coming from? How credible is the offset company that they’re working with?”

According to Angel Hsu, data scientist and founder of Data Driven EnviroLab, if companies are being secretive about their plans to reduce their emissions, then there is likely no plan at all. By proposing “offsetting” as a solution to this enormous pollution problem, it is a no brainer that these companies do not actually have a concrete plan to put into play. Another phrase that is a good representation of “offsetting” is stalling, which is not an option since there is no time left to waste.

Since the COVID-19 epidemic, consumers are willing to spend a little more cash if it means that they are supporting a business who is working towards better alternatives that eliminate carbon emissions. “While consumers have long said that they value sustainability, the COVID-19 crisis perceptibly shifted consumer behavior and enlarged the pool of conscientious consumers  willing to pay more for healthier, safer, more environmentally and socially conscious products and brands,” according to PwC research team. Having said, companies do not want to lose their customers because they do not have a plan that involves them moving to net-zero emissions, so developing open-ended goals is the best way to appease consumers for the short-term. Companies pulling publicity stunts to keep their business flow going is only putting off the inevitable of eventually being exposed for their bad practices. The cycle continues to go around and around with greenwashing.

A more recent tactic that we have been seeing from fossil fuel companies is attempting to silence protestors who are fighting against them. Protestors have been attempting to exploit these reckless companies and break the silence on how they are the reason for climate change. Companies can lie about what they are doing behind the scenes, but when it comes into the vision of the public, there is little they can do, or so we think. In Nina Lakhani’s anti-protest research, she interviewed Greenpeace director, Ebony Twilley Martin, who claims, “We are seeing an escalation of tactics to criminalize, bully, and sue those working for climate action, Indigenous rights and environmental justice… [as] oil and gas companies find new ways to delay the transition to clean energy and protect their own profits.” With fossil fuel companies silencing the voices of the public, there is little ways to spread awareness of the damage they are doing to the planet. With over 250 anti-protest bills in place, these environment activists are facing life-altering risks to try and continue the fight against fossil fuel companies and their destruction.

Fossil fuel companies are fighting against the people in order to keep their cash flow going. Whether they are donating money into research, being vague to consumers, or fighting to put anti-protest bills into place, it all comes down to the same outcome; they get to keep being vicious towards the environment. The greenwashing tactics have grown in numerous ways, but they are working tirelessly to keep their practices in the dark, and it is working. Recognizing the cause and effects of what is taking place is the first step to take down greenwashing and the pollution it brings.

References

Hsu, A. (2023, January 10). Data-driven EnviroLab tracks climate action. UNC Global. https://global.unc.edu/news-story/data-driven-envirolab-tracks-climate-action/

PricewaterhouseCoopers. (n.d.). 2021 consumer intelligence series survey on ESG. PwC. https://www.pwc.com/us/en/services/consulting/library/consumer-intelligence-series/consumer-and-employee-esg-expectations.html

Team, YCC. (2023, May 18). The fossil fuel industry is donating hundreds of millions to university climate and Energy Research ” yale climate connections. Yale Climate Connections. https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2023/05/the-fossil-fuel-industry-is-donating-hundreds-of-millions-to-university-climate-and-energy-research/