Exposing Greenwashing: Asia Pulp and Paper from Winton Media on Vimeo.

A new advertisement by the world’s leading paper company is trying to grow some good pr.

The Asia Pulp & Paper company has released a one-minute ad showing that the company is trying to make up for its destruction of rainforests in Indonesia. The company destroys thousands of miles of rainforest each year and is a leading source of greenhouse gas emissions for Indonesia.

Related articles

• Barbie killing the rainforest (rt.com)
• Lego banishes Asia Pulp & Paper due to deforestation link (ourfutureplanet.org)

The latest ads from Chevron have real people – Chevron people – addressing real issues, showing everyday folk like you an me what a great thing Chevon is doing for us.

“It’s time oil companies get behind the development of renewable energy” Who can disagree with that? Or “Oil companies should support the communities they are a part of.” Indeed.

Nobody interested in a sustainable future based on a new energy economy and social justice can really disagree with these well-crafted statements at the heart of Chevron’s latest public relations campaign, We Agree. Any greenwashed PR worthy of a multi-national energy behemoth like Chevron should deliver no less than such a positive message that places itself squarely in the center of a bright, cheery future.

On it’s face, the message is good, positive – even hopeful and optimistic. But that’s the insidious thing about greenwashing. It looks and sounds really good. Blatant lies and outright false advertising is for two-bit chumps that think they’ll never get caught in their lies and deception. Just ask ex-Congressman Chris Lee as an example of such a chump for a lesson on how that works.

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Anyone seen the recent Fido Cellular commercials?  In addition to being cheap-looking and pixely, a major component of the campaign is the “eco-friendliness” of Fido.  They claim two traits make Fido the green choice.

a) They offer two phones made in part by recycled plastics.  When looking into this claim, the housings of the devices are made with 25% post-consumer plastic.  In reality, electronics producers typically use partially recycled plastic.  It’s an economics thing Fido, don’t flatter yourself.  Plus, only 17% of electronics are made of plastic.  This according to the Plastics Division of American Chemistry.

b) “All plans come with online billing”.  Again, this is economics.  Everyone knows it’s cheaper to produce and process online bills.  Secondly, virtually every cell provider offers this.  By outlining something you and everyone else already does, you aren’t any greener than you were yesterday.

So here’s a tip if you really want to “green-up” your cell service.  Stop switching phones every 6 months.  A great deal of the environmental impact of your cell phone is caused by the production and disposal of electronics which contain harmful chemicals, volatile and environmentally disruptive metals, and non-bio-degradable plastics.  Want to be a green cell consumer?  Keep that old phone until it stops making calls.

It’s likely you’ve seen this Chevron commercial on TV, or something similar. Endearing pictures of everyday people going about their lives, and Chevron helping to lead them into the future. There is nothing necessarily wrong with an oil giant like Chevron presenting themselves as part of the solution – at least potentially. I think it is vital that fossil fuel companies bring to bear their enormous resources on developing clean energy. But the total picture must be considered, and the good balanced with the bad. Then the picture changes…

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