Chevron: Welcome to the American Greenwash

A two-minute television commercial debuted during CBS primetime's 60 Minutes last week, including shots of blue skies, loving families, cuddly animals, and amputees running sprints. No it is not an advertisement promoting non-profit donation or Pacific Life insurance. This $15 billion advertisement is the firepower of Chevron Oil for their "Power of Human Energy" campaign. The campaign began last Sunday in an effort to show the oil giant's dedication and recognition of the need to investigate future energy supplies. The mogul's campaign, which argues "humanity needs alternative energy sources, but it still needs fossil fuel," is being lambasted throughout the media for its hypocritical smoke screen. Shot in twenty-two locations in thirteen countries, the ads include actors as well as Chevron workers.

The "Power of Human Energy" campaign is an ambitious public relations move for the oil giant to recast itself as an environmentally responsible citizen. Although it touches on a topic the oil industry once hated to discuss, the ads never use the terms global warming or climate change. The more attention the public pays to alternative energy and the environment, the more important it becomes for oil companies to be seen taking an active role in the debate. Chevron's commercial plays off public emotion and tries to tug at viewer's heartstrings. Environmental groups, like the Sierra Club, have pinpointed Chevron's advertising techniques and called them "greenwashing," a term describing "actions of a company, government, or other organization which advertises positive environmental practices while acting in the opposite way." Recently many corporations producing harmful products have used advertisements to try and reshape their reputation. BP coined "beyond petroleum", Royal Dutch Shell attached a caring DVD to National Geographic magazines, and even President Bush's "Clear Skies Initiative" is arguably making way for a more polluted sky. These corporations with busting bank accounts can pay their way through any public relations campaign to try and twist their image in the eyes of American consumers.

The problem is that Chevron's poor corporate citizen stretches worldwide, not to just American consumers. Last Tuesday, a federal judge in San Francisco ruled that Chevron should be held responsible for Nigerian military attacks in the late nineties. International military entanglements do not end there. Due to a grandfather clause exempting Chevron from Clinton's legislation in 1997 stopping investments in Burma, the oil mogul's natural gas operations have continued to bring upwards of $2.16 billion in taxes to the military government the last few years. By doing so, they are supporting the human rights violations of the Texas-sized nation in the last few weeks and its military buildup of the last few years. The current government in Burma freely murders pro-Democracy protestors and Chevron should stand up for the political ideology that allowed it to become a multi-national corporation based in the United States.

It is no mystery that Chevron, like other oil companies, is trying to stay afloat in the changing eco-friendly "green" world. Clearly companies such as Chevron, BP, and Royal Dutch Oil are creating these emotionally-charged green campaigns to do what they can given their harmful industries. Chevron is arguing that the economy needs oil but perhaps there are other sources of energy that are not being explored. For instance, a proactive website "Will you Join Us," funded by Chevron, focuses on different forms of energy like renewables, nuclear power, and hydrogen. Yet Chevron needs to stretch itself farther than creating a website dedicated to energy reforms. They need to pressure the Burmese government to change their oppressive regime. Clearly Chevron is only willing to go so far and when profits could be damaged, human rights may be the opportunity cost.

Oil is not the only industry that faces this issue. The tobacco industry is notorious for funding initiatives and research to prevent smoking. The irony is almost too much to handle, but in today's world, everyone is generally more conscious of the environment and health so companies have to respond to that. Philip Morris USA's new campaign has been a multi-million dollar investment in Potentially Reduced Exposure Products (PREPS), a supposedly less carcinogenic cigarette. While global issues are of the utmost concern, companies like Philip Morris and Chevron can inch their way into the limelight to downplay their products' role in the global problems and instead promote a "globally conscious initiatives." Clearly, the environmental campaigns from Chevron and Philip Morris have been called cynical. The issue again comes down to profit. When companies are responding to shareholders and looking out for personal gain, human greed takes the drivers seat and ethics rides in the trunk. So will the people watching this commercial respond favorably to the advertisement or will they write Chevron off as hypocritical? Chevron Brand Manager Helen Clark says that "it doesn't matter what we say-they're going to feel that way. But there is a large faction in the middle that is really open." With hybrid car sales rising, peaking at an average growth of 81% in 2004, hopefully people will not depend on oil as much in the future.