If Green Is Your Color, Beware these “Greenwashing” Giants
April 8th, 2009
Today’s job market is extremely tough – so we will forgive those graduates who set aside their green philosophy to consider any available work. But if green is your color and your mantra, then you are not one who will forgo your commitment to a greener world just because of a tough job market.
At the same time, environmentally-conscious graduates must be careful to investigate the full corporate philosophy of a company to be sure that the public persona is in fact commensurate with that corporation’s business practices. If green is in fact your color, you don’t want to be fooled into taking a job at a business better known for its “greenwashing” practices.
Greenwashing
“Greenwashing” is the term used to describe the misleading practice of publicly claiming to be working on being better stewards of the environment even as some of a company’s real time practices act to pollute. In other words, these company’s public relations campaigns tend to be more about rhetoric than a real green commitment.
That said, it is important to recognize this is not about illegal behavior. It is just that within their industrial practices these companies contaminate either the air, the ground or water by discharging pollutants, some that are potentially very toxic.
At the same time that their industrial practices are less than stellar, these companies may fool the general public by virtue of using a large fleet of hybrid vehicles or harnessing significant amounts of energy from the sun through solar panels. They may also give off a green vibe by donating to environmental non-profit causes.
Therefore, “greenwashing” is about style over substance.
Measuring Greenwashing
Those graduates with a green philosophy currently out looking for jobs can turn to the web site 24/7 Wall St for a review of the top ten “greenwashers.” The list represents a number of corporate giants and traverses across several different fields.
The method used to determine the top ten “greenwashers” by the web site included a look at each corporation’s public documents including advertising, press releases, and websites. In addition, they took a look at each company’s lobbying practices.
To determine the pollution effects, 24/7 Wall St. queried the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program’s public online database. The database consists of the annual collected EPA data regarding the release and transfer of specific toxic chemicals and the waste management activities at specific industrial locations.
Using the database, 24/7 Wall St. “identified the companies which released the largest amount of toxic chemicals according to 27 different industrial codes identified by the EPA.”
Along with the TRI program, 24/7 Wall St. used other databases including the Political Economy Research Institute’s Toxic 100 index. In addition, they took a look at case law and settlements related to environmental issues as well as a company’s response to environmental concerns raised by agencies and the public.
If Green Is Your Color
So if green is in fact your color, so much so that it will impact your career choice, then you will want to think twice about applying for work at one of 24/7 Wall St.’s ten “greenwashing” giants.
