All The Greenwash In The World Leaves Ecologists Unimpressed - Bloomberg

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SEATTLE - William Clay Ford Jr., chairman of Ford Motor, stares out from the television screen and pledges that the automaker is "dramatically ramping up its commitment" to environmentally safer cars like gasoline-electric hybrids.

Left unstated in Ford's recent ads: In 2003, the No. 2 U.S. automaker after General Motors, dropped its promise to increase average fuel efficiency on its sport utility fleet. In 2004, the company joined other automakers in suing to block a California law that would limit emissions of gases linked to global warming. And even if Ford meets its goals, low-emission hybrids by 2010 would make up less than 4 percent of the company's fleet.

The "green" advertising wave is on, as companies from Ford to General Electric to BP blitz the airwaves with concern for a clean planet. Advocacy groups and politicians are now challenging those corporate assertions. One California group took out full-page newspaper ads questioning Toyota Motor's environmentalist credentials. "There are some questionable representations," Richard Blumenthal, attorney general of Connecticut said, referring to Ford. "They're definitely exploiting the fashion of environmentally friendly vehicles."

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BP, the largest European oil company, advertises its investments in solar and wind power as it rebrands itself with the label "Beyond Petroleum." BP's solar division accounted for 0.14 percent, or $400 million, of its $295 billion in sales in 2004. "Our recent advertising has focused on renewable energy because we created a separate business entity last year," a BP spokeswoman, Wendy Silcock, said in London. "It's a business that we are investing in. But we've never pretended that the bulk of our business isn't in oil and gas." Hugh Latimer, co-chairman of the ad practice at the Washington law firm Wiley Rein & Fielding, said green advertising was becoming so prevalent that conflicts over claims were inevitable. "It's an area that will get increased scrutiny," he said.

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http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/01/17/business/bxgreen.php