This summer Kolbrener published a newsletter on Greenwashing, the practice of talking the green talk in your marketing and advertising but not necessarily walking the green walk. Essentially, if you’re going to execute a campaign incorporating “Green”, then your actions better be as substantive as your ads or your brand will suffer. BP is going to suffer for they are a Greenwasher.
BP has positioned itself as a green brand with their “Beyond Petroleum” campaign and positioning. Well, as reported by Jean Halliday in the August 20, 2007 Advertising Age, BP recently applied for and received a permit from the state of Indiana to dump 54% more ammonia and 35% more suspended solids into Lake Michigan from its Whiting, Ind. refinery. This doesn’t seem green to Sudhu Johnston, chief environmental officer for the city of Chicago, and it doesn’t seem green to me either.
Iain Conn is the chief executive, refining and marketing at BP. In a profile interview conducted by journalist Judi Bevan and published by BP shortly after Iain replaced John Manzoni, Mr. Conn states that BP’s future success “is about moving towards a far lower carbon energy world by developing solar, wind, natural gas, hydrogen for power and biofuels.” However, in the July 24, 2007 article New BP chief’s anger as profits slip by Robert Lea of the Evening Standard that was published on thisismoney.co.uk, group chief executive Tony Hayward ordered Conn to get his US refineries back up to capacity. Obviously, this requires significantly increased dumping of toxic waste. Which is it Mr. Conn? Will you honor the brand promise you and BP have created or are you merely a greenwashing marketing executive creating and dispensing greenness while it suits the bottom line?
If you would like to personally pose the same question to Mr. Conn and BP, please click here, complete the form provided, and paste the following link in the message field: http://www.kolbrenerusa.com/blog/index.php/2007/08/23/bp-is-greenwashing/.
2 Comments
An emailed response from BP (bponthestreet@bp.com):
BP America has promised to operate its Whiting refinery to meet the lower discharge limits contained in the refinery’s previous wastewater
treatment permit.
This announcement underscores BP’s commitment to this $3.8 billion project, which will create the capacity to increase production of clean fuels to the Midwest by 1.7 million gallons a day. The project is important for the nation, it’s important for the Midwest, and it’s important to BP and to the thousands of BP employees in the State of Indiana. We are working very hard to make this project succeed.
We are making this announcement in response to ongoing regional opposition to any increase in discharge permit limits for Lake Michigan, a controversy that creates an unacceptable level of business risk for BP’s considerable investment. We have participated in an open and transparent permitting process with the State of Indiana and obtained a valid permit that meets all regulatory standards and is protective of water quality and human health. Even so, we will not make use of the higher discharge limits in our new permit.
Currently, we are not aware of any technology that will get us to those limits, but we’re committed to developing a project that allows us to do so. We have already agreed to participate with the Purdue Calumet Water Institute and the Argonne National Laboratory in a joint effort to identify and evaluate emerging technologies with the potential to improve wastewater treatment across the Great Lakes. We will provide a $5 million grant to Purdue University to help underwrite the research effort.
During the next 18 months, BP will continue to seek issuance of other permits, continue project design and explore options for operating within the lower discharge limits.
Usenet - a set of machines which exchange clauses marked with one or is more universal-recognized labels, the named teleconferences (or “groups” for short). If the above definition Usenet seems uncertain, therefore it. It is almost impossible to draw a conclusion on all sites Usenet in any not trivial way. Usenet covers the governmental agencies, greater universities, high schools, firms of all sizes, house computers of all descriptions, etc.