As a service to malaysiakini readers we are pleased to provide the very first "Bluffers Guide to Greenwash" - terms to spot, images to record and catch-phrases to recall in your sleep are all here. Perhaps we could even hold our own poll?

Constructive engagement : Typically a commitment to support economic growth/development (delete as appropriate) in a controversial country/project/region (delete as appropriate) as the human rights/environmental (either or) situation will invariably improve.

This is facetious as economic growth, i.e. more money does not necessarily lead to democracy and rights as numerous examples worldwide show.

Sustainable development : The contemporary transnational panacea to all ills. Both parts of the terms "sustainable" and "development", should always be regarded as being in inverted commas as they can mean all things to all people.

It's often described as an amalgamation of economic, social and environmental factors, a "triple bottom line", but this obscures the fact that all three are fundamentally different forms of value.

Corporate citizenship : The effort to convince corporations that they should be "good citizens" since they operate in the public realm and what they do affects others. Pointing out the obvious really, but rather difficult to implement due to the social responsibilities (and thus, increase in risk and threat to profits) it implies.

Community projects : Building schools, roads and hospitals is a common response to allegations of environmental destruction, forced labour, military complicity and dispossession. Such "safe" projects unrelated to actual grievances give the impression that a modicum of civility is present, not the sort of terror portrayed by allegations.

Environmental/Conservation Projects : According to Corporate Watch: "Here the company gets more specific. They talk about how many acres of wetlands they've preserved. The studies of biodiversity they have funded. The endangered species that roost on their properties.

"Antidote : Find out about the projects in question. Sometimes they are forced upon the company by regulators due to past violations, and only later presented as voluntary. Find out how much the project cost, and compare it to the cost of the ads to publicise it. If the ads and the air time cost as much or more than as the project, it's greenwash."

Historical footnote : One company boasted of having planted hundreds of acres of trees in Sumatra in its "commitment to the environment"; it turned out that a thriving indigenous forest had been chopped down and replanted with monoculture. A for effort, F for common sense.

We care : Usually found buried in lush tropical landscapes or pristine arctic wilderness, this copy line is usually an indicator that the advertiser has been accused of doing anything but caring.

Nature : Not quite a catch-phrase, but a picture says a thousand words. As the Corporate Watch guide to greenwash says: "If natural beauty has nothing to do with the company's products, it's greenwash".

And finally, not quite greenwash but a prodigal son: "Sweatwash", the labour rights equivalent of greenwash, used to obfuscate sweatshop abuses. Nike and most other apparel and sports manufacturers have won numerous "accolades" for efforts in Indonesia, Pakistan, China, New York and Vietnam. For a future guide.

Now you're ready to take on the onslaught of greenwash ... or start your own ad company.

Back to: