Greenwashing

Watch the video (:38 minute) below and see if you pick up on any rhetorical strategies.

So, what did you find?

Pathos

This commercial is filled with pathos. The babies (are some children?) are meant to evoke happiness/warmth/etc. The song is jaunty and catchy - I don't know about you, but I actually like it. The imagery (other than the "bad" gas stations) is colored with pastels, giving it a very soft look. The BP gas pump is whistling (!) and the kids are smiling after they go to the BP station. There is a small attempt at humor at the end (the "baby" part of "gas stations, a little better, baby"). All of this is pathos.

Ethos

The only thing I could detect was at the end when BP put its brand on the screen "Beyond Petroleum." This is a weak attempt at establishing credibility, and I imagine not purposeful. They do that at the end of every commercial. There is no scientific information or even scientific-sounding information. No people in lab coats or statistics cited. Really, very little in the way of ethos.

Logos

There is not much in the way of logos either. The story does have a logical progression - happy kids run out of gas, pass gas stations with inferior gas, kids refuse the "bad" gas, then find a BP station and end up happy and high-fiving. I know, this story is ridiculous on its face, but it does tell a story with some logic to the structure. If there is a logic to the structure, then it has logos. BP is also saying that their gas is better, or at least a little better. You could also say that showing wind turbines at the end of the commercial are an attempt to associate renewable energy with BP, so perhaps the audience might think that BP supports wind turbines. This is a bit of a logical leap but could be considered logos.

There are a number of rhetorical strategies being deployed in this commercial, which to be honest, is to be expected. Please note that this is not meant to single out BP - as noted earlier in this lesson, print and video advertising is rife with rhetoric, pathos in particular. But is there anything that does not quite "sit right" with you when watching the video? Does it feel like part of the story is missing? Anything odd about an oil company using so much green imagery?

Greenwashing

Greenwashing can be thought of as:

• "the use of marketing to portray an organization's products, activities or policies as environmentally friendly when they are not."
• Greenwashing Index adds that it can also include "when a company or organization spends more time and money claiming to be “green” through advertising and marketing than actually implementing business practices that minimize environmental impact."  

So, why would a company spend the time and money to convey a green image, and risk being viewed as insincere? As you might have guessed, it's good for business. Investopedia notes that: "The general idea behind greenwashing is to create a benefit by appearing to be a green company, whether that benefit comes in the form of a higher stock price, more customers or favored partnerships with green organizations." 

Being (or at least putting on the appearance of being) "green" or sustainable has become a very good marketing strategy. Think about all of the times you've seen the term "green" or "sustainable" associated with a product or process. It is happening in basically all sectors of the economy - food, energy, transportation, housing, business, cleaning products, events, sports stadiums, and even fashion. Business pursuing sustainability is not a bad thing. If we are going to achieve a sustainable future, the business community will have to be on board, if not leading the way. The problem is when a business is using sustainability more as a marketing ploy than a legitimate attempt at addressing sustainability.

So, how do you know if a company is making a legitimate attempt at addressing sustainability? In short: it's complicated. The folks in the Greenwashing Index offer some good suggestions on how to investigate claims (see the "How Do I Spot It?" section in the reading):

• "If you see a green ad, take a look at the company as a whole. Can you easily find more information about their sustainable business practices on their website? Do they have a comprehensive environmental story? Is there believable information to substantiate the green claims you saw in the ad? If not, buyer beware."
• "Google the company name plus the word 'environment' and see what pops up. This is far from scientific, but if consumers or environmental advocates have a beef with the company’s track record, something’s bound to pop up."
• "'I know it when I see it.'...those are words to live by for the consumer and green marketing claims. If you spot a green ad, how does it strike your gut? Does it ring true and authentic, or is it obviously hype? Smart shoppers abound globally, and your own scrutiny of green marketing claims is one more item to throw into your shopping cart."

The best way to fight greenwashing is to become educated about sustainability and take the time to learn about companies. The 2:30 minute video below illustrates some facts about BP that could be found with a little research.

Even though BP is not directly making any claims other than being "a little better," the rhetorical strategies outlined above are used to indicate the company's "green-ness." To be fair, BP has been one of the more aggressive oil companies in regards to renewables. According to Bloomberg Business, they achieved their goal of investing $8 billion in renewables between 2005 and 2015. They heavily invested in wind farms, though they have recently put many of them up for sale. They had a solar division for decades, and only recently shut it down. They are still fairly heavily invested in biofuels. Whether or not it's wise for BP to invest in renewable energy may be debatable, but the point is that renewables are a tiny sliver of their business, so focusing marketing on that aspect is greenwashing.

You may be thinking "What are they supposed to do - advertise the negative climate change implications of their business?" That would be a fair question. But it is possible to be a little more reasonable in the message the company sends. If they oversell their "greenness," it is greenwashing.

Greenwashing is not only used by energy companies. Watch the 1 minute ad below and see if:

1. you can pick up on any rhetorical strategies, and
2. think about whether or not it is greenwashing (hint: think about what you know of the electricity industry from Lesson 1).

Please note that the presence of rhetoric does not mean it is greenwashing! Remember that rhetoric consists of techniques that are used to try to persaude an audience. Many times that persuasiveness is based on fact.

Okay, one more example. Once again, keep an eye out for rhetorical strategies (1:37 minutes).

You probably figured out that this last one is a parody (a pretty funny one, if you ask me). But it actually makes some really good points by bringing light to the touchstones that many advertisers put in their commercials to persuade you. Again, this is not meant to single out the petroleum and plastic industries, as these techniques are used by many companies. But it is the only parody video I know of. Look, dolphins!

Again, the best way to detect greenwashing is to learn as much as possible about sustainability and to research companies' claims. The best way to reduce the incidence of greenwashing is for consumers to push back against companies that do it. By "voting with your dollars" you hurt profits, which is a good way to get a company's attention.

Why Should We Care?

Hopefully, it's pretty clear what greenwashing is, and how to spot it. But why does it matter? Of course advertisers are not telling us the whole truth, and are just trying to get us to buy their products. After all, that is literally their job (the part about getting us to buy their stuff is, anyway). The main problem with greenwashing is that it can trick people into doing things that they think is promoting sustainability, but it is actually not, or worse - it is promoting things that are bad for sustainability. 

Most often, the best way to address sustainability is to not buy anything at all. But given that it's nearly impossible to go through life without buying things and that consumer spending constitutes somewhere around 70% of U.S. GDP, making wise consumer choices is important. Greenwashing makes this much more difficult.

One Final Note

Please note that the use of rhetoric and greenwashing are two separate things. Use of rhetoric does not constitute greenwashing. Of course they can and sometimes do appear at the same time, but these are separate concepts. That stated, they both call into question the credibility of the author.