10-26-08 by dugan
Chevron tries harder. Nope, not to cut fuel prices or compete to be first in renewable energy. For Che
vron it’s all about hearts and minds, as another full-page color ad in the LA Times reminds me this morning. This craven greenwashing is in sharp contrast to Chevron’s reality: its threats and demands elsewhere in the world to curb any large-scale efforts to slow global warming.
Here’s how Chevron makes itself look green, while spending less on its so-called green programs than on the advertising of them.
The ad says:
"Our Chevron Energy Solutions team is dedicated to helping others use less energy. In Colorado, we’ve worked with the state to improve 20 state buildings. The extensive makeover is expected to save more than $20 million over the next two decades."
A quick read of that paragraph would leave you with the impression that Chevron spent $20 million to make Colorado government buildings greener. But of course not: that’s just the state’s Chevron-estimated energy savings, $1 million a year for 20 years. And the phrase "worked with the state" is a cue–Chevron spent little to nothing beyond some advisory time by its engineers.
Very small potatoes for an ad campaign that cost millions to produce and tens of thousands of dollars for every full-page color buy in a major newspaper. Chevron’s even bigger broadcast greenwash is many times more expensive–consider the multiple repeats of this Chevron "image ad" during Sunday’s full sports schedule on TV. So is Chevron’s aim a cleaner world, or making you feel softer and warmer about an oil company. Not a hard call, eh?