From ‘British’ to ‘Beyond’: A Case Study of BP’s Commitment to Solar Energy Alternatives Since 1999

The phenomenon of corporate ‘Greenwashing’- that is, the unjustified appropriation of environmental virtue by a company to unjustly create a pro-environmental  image- has become increasingly common as environmental responsibility becomes both a primary subject of corporate ethical debates and a crucial factor in determining public perception. Sadly, ‘greenwashing’ often has the effect of polarizing analyses of corporate environmental identity into one of two reductionist positions: Company’s push exaggerated ‘green’ identities to avoid scrutiny of ‘non-green’ policies and incidents while critics often use any such exception to label entire campaigns as a ‘Greenwash.’ Rarely do analyses consider whether there is a more complex, ‘gray’ area between these extremes. In this paper, I assess British Petroleum’s commitment to developing the solar energy market since their purchase of Solarex in 1999 and their subsequent rebranding campaign in 2000 as a “green” company dedicated to developing energy alternatives. By assesssing BP Solar’s commitment to creating a profitable solar market, I suggest their rebranding campaign cannot be reduced to a mere greenwash, even if their image is not entirely congruent with their current investment commitments. I use environmental ethical quotes by Covalence to support this thesis. Throughout my analysis, I attempt to elucidate the larger question of how a company whose primary source of revenue is the exploitation of ‘non-green’ resources can set realistic goals- that is, goals reconcilable within our current economic system given our contermporary social/technological restraints- in its transition to ‘green.’ It is precisley this question which current discussions of ‘greenwashing’- on the part of both critics and corporations themselvse- largely ignore. > Continue.

Publication: Covalence Analyst Paper | Country: Global | company: BP | Source: Covalence