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This year, the European Business Summit's theme is "Greening the Economy". However, instead of inviting companies that are pioneers in environmental technologies, the programme boasts some of the most polluting companies in the world and some of the worst performers in their sector. Instead of green leaders, the EBS presents dirty laggards.
With an action and exhibition at the opening of the European Business Summit, Friends of the Earth Europe exposed the greenwashing practices of the businesses taking part.
See our Greenwashing exhibition here
Download our fact sheet
here (151KB)
See our press release here (21 February 2008)
The European Business Summit - greening the economy?
The European Business Summit (EBS) is a high-level annual conference organised by BUSINESSEUROPE, the lobby-organisation of big European companies. During the EBS, business leaders meet with European commissioners and top national politicians. This year's theme is "Greening the Economy".
However, instead of inviting companies that are pioneers in environmental technologies, the programme boasts some of the most polluting companies in the world and some of the worst performers in their sector. Instead of green leaders, BUSINESSEUROPE presents dirty laggards.
The political framework
The EBS is taking place in a time of increased corporate power in Europe. Excessive influence of companies over EU institutions increases a "democratic deficit", as it excludes citizens from actual decision-making. More and more Europeans feel they have no grip on their lives anymore. Corporate domination results in EU policies that dismantle environmental, social and labour policies for the sake of improving companies' competitiveness and profits. Such an approach is most clearly laid down in the EU's agendas on "Better Regulation" and "Global Europe".
What lies beneath - the companies' public images versus their real faces
In the wake of the public's increasing awareness that climate change and other environmental challenges need to be urgently addressed, many companies strive to remodel their image to blend in with the environmental consciousness of their customers. Over the past year few years, more and more companies have made environmental claims in their advertising and public relations efforts, trying to greenwash their image and cover up the real environmental impacts of their core business behaviour.
The real company face often looks quite bleak and dirty. We have looked into the environmental impacts of some of the companies involved in the European Business Summit and found out that most of them have an extremely poor green track record:
- BMW and Volvo - manufacture the dirtiest cars in Europe
- E.on - coal power stations are the most polluting electricity producers
- Fortis - finance the world's most polluting gold mine
- Gazprom - the Sakhalin II project is the biggest threat to the last 100 western grey whales
- Lufthansa and KLM - aviation is by far the most greenhouse gas intensive form of transport
- Shell - gas flares are the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa
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BMW and Volvo - manufacture the dirtiest cars in Europe
Cars account for around 20% of total European emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) - the principal greenhouse gas responsible for global warming. And BMW and Volvo are among the worst: the average CO2 emissions of Volvo (195g/km in 2005) and BMW (192g/km in 2005) vehicle fleets rank highest among the top 20 selling car brands in Europe.
In 2007 the Commission proposed a binding target for car emissions of 120g/km by 2012, to be achieved through |
innovations in vehicle technology. This produced furious reactions and an intensive lobbying campaign from ACEA (European Automobile Manufacturers Association), of which both BMW and Volvo are members. In a dirty PR campaign, exaggerated threats of massive factory close downs and job losses were brought forward in case of mandatory CO2 targets. Norbert Reithofer, BMW's chief executive, has condemned the European commission's plans as "physically impossible" and "economically unsound".
As a result of this lobbying campaign, the Commission weakened its proposal to 130g/km by 2012 - but still, both BMW and Volvo are far away from achieving even this watered-down target.
More information:
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E.on - coal power stations are the most polluting electricity producers
37% of all man-made CO2 emissions are generated by the power sector, with coal-fired power stations ranking dirtiest. Coal is the most carbon-rich of all fossil fuels; burning it generates 70% more CO2 than natural gas for every unit of energy produced. Many other pollutants are present in the emissions, as solid coal is more difficult to clean than oil, which is refined before use. Two main ingredients of coal smoke are particulate and sulfur dioxide pollution, which cause 500,000 premature deaths |
and millions of new respiratory illnesses each year in urban areas worldwide. Higher smokestacks, built to lessen coal's local air pollution, have led to widespread acid rain and deposition. In Europe, 27 out of the 30 most climate polluting power stations are coal fired. Among these are E.on's power stations in Scholven (Germany) with 900 grams of CO2 per Kilowatt hour (g CO2/kWh), Ratcliffe on Soar (UK) with 895 g CO2/kWh and Kingsnorth (UK) with 892 g CO2/kWh. E.on is aggressively pushing for the development of a new coal power station at Kingsnorth, next to the existing one. Kingsnorth, if given the go ahead, will release 8 million tonnes of CO2 a year, the same as the 30 least polluting countries in the world combined.
More information:
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Fortis - finance the world's most polluting gold mine
Although Fortis has signed the UN Global Compact and the Equator Principles, it takes little or no heed of human rights and environmental impacts in its financial activities. For example, Fortis finances a company which has illegally driven indigenous people from their land and dumped toxic waste in India and Zambia (participation worth US$ 75 million in a bridge loan to Vedanta Resources, April 2007), it supports a company that co-operates with the Burmese military dictators to extract gas and provide the dictatorship with |
income (issuing of bonds for Total Capital with a total value of A$ 100 million), and it owns or manages shares of one of the most controversial mining companies in the world (total of 1,118,220 shares worth US$ 97.8 million shares in Freeport McMoRan on 30 June 2007).
Freeport McMoRan operates the Grasberg mine in Indonesia. The world's largest gold mine and third largest copper mine is one of the last places on earth where the extremely controversial mining technique called 'riverine tailings disposal' is used. Every day 230,000 tonnes of toxic rubble is dumped in the Aghawagon River. The waste contains heavy metals such as copper, arsenic, cadmium and mercury, killing off life in the river. The estuary in the lowlands, formerly one of the most biodiverse habitats in the world, has been completely destroyed. It is now almost impossible for the local population to use the river for fishing or drinking water. The large quantities of sediment that remain on the river banks are also affecting the rainforest. 230km2 of rainforest will be destroyed over the life of the mine.
Some time ago, ABN AMRO announced that it regretted its investments in the Freeport mine, due to its deplorable social and environmental performance. Fortis, however, continues to support Freeport.
More information:
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Gazprom - the Sakhalin II project is the biggest threat to the last 100 western grey whales
Gazprom is the biggest global extractor of natural gas, and the majority shareholder of Sakhalin Energy, the main operator of the Sakhalin II project in East Russia. Sakhalin II is the world's largest integrated oil and gas production project.
The construction of offshore platforms and some 500 miles of pipeline on the sea bed and onshore create a serious threat to the environment, including to rare and endangered species as well as to the fisheries resources |
of both Sakhalin and Japan's shorelines. Noise from the construction of the PA-B Platform has already pushed the critically endangered Western Grey Whales from their vital feeding grounds near the platform. Despite requirements in the Environmental Action Plan to either halt the project or move the PA-B Platform, Sakhalin Energy proceeds with its platform in close proximity to the whale feeding ground. It also plans to continue seismic testing near to the whale feeding ground. This will have irreversible negative impacts on the Western Grey Whale population.
Due to the project's poorly designed pipeline, the area is already experiencing increased landslides, debris flows, mud flows and erosion. Moreover, the pipeline is constructed underground through active seismic faults, seriously increasing the risk of ruptures and oil spills during earthquakes, and making it impossible to adequately locate and respond to oil spills and leaks near river crossings. This will lead to significant pollution of salmon spawning grounds in an estimated 600 waterways.
In a number of cases, Sakhalin Energy or its contractors violated Russian law.
More information:
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Lufthansa and KLM - aviation is by far the most greenhouse gas intensive form of transport
Aviation has by far the greatest climate impact of any mode of transport, whether measured per passenger kilometre, per tonne kilometre, per Euro spent or per hour spent. For example, on a transatlantic return flight, each passenger generates roughly the same level of emissions as the average person in the EU does by heating their home for a whole year. Aviation is also the most inequitable mode of transport: a minority of flying people share a much bigger carbon footprint than the |
non-flying majority. EU emissions from international air transport are increasing faster than from any other sector, threatening to undermine the progress in cutting overall greenhouse gas emissions. If no action is taken, aviation emissions are likely to more than double by 2020.
According to KLM, aviation is responsible for only 2-3% of the global impact of climate change. In an advertising series, Lufthansa even claims that aviation is only responsible for 1,6% of global greenhouse gas emissions. However, because of different chemical reactions at high altitudes, aviation emissions have a climate change impact 2.7 times higher than CO2 emissions from land-based sources. Experts agree that taking this into account, aviation is responsible for 4-9% of the global impact of climate change.
The European Commission wants to bring aviation into the EU Emissions Trading System, in order to tackle the sector's emissions. Lufthansa has been lobbying against this proposal, arguing that "a European 'go-it-alone solution (...) will place European airlines at a disadvantage vis-a-vis their international competitors." No wonder that they try to downplay the impact of aviation on climate change - manipulation of facts makes regulatory action seem less urgent.
More information:
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Shell - gas flares are the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions in Sub-Saharan Africa
Around the world, people are suffering from the effects of pollution from Shell's operations. In South Africa, people living near a Shell refinery suffer from high rates of asthma and respiratory diseases, thought to be caused as a result of breathing in high levels of sulphur dioxide from the refinery. In central Manila, Philippines, scientific investigation has shown a direct relationship between the proximity of housing to a Shell oil depot and the amount of lead found in the blood and damage to the nervous |
system of residents.
In Nigeria, Shell wastes gas, a by-product of oil, by flaring it. More gas is flared in Nigeria than anywhere else in the world. Roughly 2.5 billion cubic feet of gas associated with crude oil is wasted this way everyday - the annual financial loss to Nigeria is about USD 2.5 billion.
The roaring, toxic flares affect the health and livelihoods of the local communities of the Niger Delta. Shell's flares emit sulphur which causes acid rain and devastates the environment and corrodes people's homes. The cocktail of toxins in the illegal flares increase the risk of premature deaths, child respiratory illness asthma and cancer.
On the global level, gas flaring contributes significantly to climate change. The flares have contributed more greenhouse gases than all of sub-Saharan Africa combined. In 2006, the Nigerian Federal High Court ordered Shell to stop all flaring by April 2007, declaring it a violation of the constitutionally-guaranteed rights to life and dignity of the local community. Despite this order, Shell continues to flare gas in Nigeria.
No company spends so much effort to green its image as Shell. By contrast, Shell spends less than 1% of its yearly profits on renewable energy.
More information:
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NEW
Nominations are now open for the fourth edition of the Worst EU Lobbying Awards! Click here to suggest candidates
gator
 Poison Fire
Watch our film about Gas flaring in Nigeria NEW
Greenwashing by oil and gas group OMV
More information and our complaint to the JEP (29 May 2008) NEW
Complaint against Burson-Marsteller
Friends of the Earth Europe complains to the Belgian government (7 May 2008) and to EPACA (8 April 2008) Read more
New coalition releases report against ArcelorMittal Read more
Friends of the Earth Europe files a complaint against Cabinet of Mr. Mandelson
Read more (30 April 2008)
Action at launch of Shell's 'Energy Scenarios to 2050'
Exhibition displays the reality of Shell's operations (07 April 2008)
Secrecy and corporate dominance ALTER-EU study on composition and transparency of European Commission Expert Groups (25 March 2008)
European Commission fails to act on conflicts of interests
ALTER-EU says the new Communication on ethics is far too weak (06 March 2008)
- Read the press release
- Read the critique on the background study Regulating Conflicts of Interest for Holders of Public Office in the European Union
Stop Greenwashing the Economy!
Action and exhibition exposing greenwashing at the 6th European Business Summit
(21 February 2008) Read more
Commission backtracking on lobby transparency
ALTER-EU rings alarm bell
NEW (13 February 2008)
- Read the letter to Commission president Barroso
- read the press relase
Saab warned to withdraw 'greenwash' ads or face legal challenge
Read more
Read the text of the summons sent to Saab in English and in French (10 January 2008)
Malaysian plam oil industry condemned for greenwashing
'Sustainable palm oil' advert false, says watchdog (January 2008). Read more
Hellfire Economics
Multinational companies and the contract dispute over Kashagan, the world's largest undeveloped oilfield (December 2007). Read more
Worst EU Lobbying and Greenwash Awards 2007
German car trio and nuclear lobby shamed for worst lobbying and worst greenwashing in Europe
(04 December 2007) Read more
Kashagan oil field development
Toxic chemicals linked to development of the Kashagan oil field in Kazakhstan are polluting the Caspian Sea environment and damaging the health and livelihoods of local communities (5 December 2007) Read more
ExxonMobil's slick Greenwashing
FoEE with the support of 644 signatories ask the Belgian government to take down Exxon's misleading advertising at Brussels Airport (19 Nov 2007)
- read the complaint
- see the signatories
- read more
Too close for comfort: The relationship between the biotech industry and the European Commission
An analysis (October 2007)
Greenwash Confronted -
Misleading Advertising Regulation in the EU and its Member States
new report (26 Sept 2007)
Extractive Industries: Fact Sheets
Climate Impacts EN, FR
Financing EN, FR
Gender Issues EN, FR
Mining EN, FR
Oil and Gas EN, FR
Social Impacts EN, FR
FoEE complains to European Ombudsman
European Commission fails to provide requested documents on meetings with car industry
(25 September 2007)
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more here
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