OFFHIRE
You have to get up pretty early to pull the wool over Roy’s eyes, but he raises a brow when a local firm starts bragging about their environmental credentials. Calling their bluff seems to do the trick…
BLACK AND WHITE, OR GREENWASHING? E
ver heard of ‘greenwashing’? I’d assumed it was something a young squaddie might have to do when
he first joined the army, along with peeling thousands of potatoes and getting shouted at by some overbearing Sergeant Major, but it seems that I’m dreadfully misinformed…
Greenwashing is defined in Wikipedia as ‘a form of marketing spin in which green PR and green marketing are deceptively used to persuade the public that an organisation's products, aims and policies are environmentally-friendly’.
Well, recently I directly witnessed this at first hand and, in true Rental Rate Roy fashion, I couldn’t help but to be a tad contentious in the direction of the alleged greenwasher.
The local construction company in question had their PR department splash across the press that they were aiming to be carbon neutral in the near future, and that they were investing in numerous cunning stunts to achieve this impressive feat. A most magnanimous gesture toward all of mankind, I thought, and I felt compelled to fall to my knees bowing and scraping at this visionary organisation who are ploughing their green credentials and ensuring they are at the forefront of every opportunity to ram it down everyone’s throats in a somewhat sanctimonious fashion.
Not wanting to miss the opportunity to (as is used in political terminology) ‘bring their feet to the fire’ I wrote to their managing director congratulating them in their efforts to singlehandedly save the planet and to also make them aware of the fact that we too are doing the same by fitting LED lighting, movement sensors, reusing candle wax and allowing for the staff to take as many mushrooms as they wish to carry from the back of the Men’s Bogs doors! I highlighted that as we were their closest geographical
plant & tool hire company, that no one could have a better impact on their carbon footprint, as we would be providing our equipment and services from an extremely close location as opposed to using an alternative from farther afield. I invited them to allow us to open a dialogue with them to put things in place to support their green credentials and work with them to enhance their future carbon footprint.
My greatest mistake was to present this to them in letter form. How ghastly that I should waste paper and impact the environment by utilising the post office to deliver my message. Should I have used email? But what of the electricity this would have consumed? Maybe a carrier pigeon would have been more acceptable, but think of the impact of guano? How about semaphore with flags, perhaps?
One thing is for certain, I never received a response, because in truth they knew full well that I’d seen through their claims and I believed that they were clearly and brazenly undertaking greenwashing.
The question to be asked, though, is this as bad as being a carbon generator?
I think it is, because they have little intention of mitigating their carbon footprint in attempting to fulfilling their stated responsibilities, and the less cynical or more gullible than yours truly are likely to swallow their spin and horse manure hook, line, sinker, rod, reel and copy of Angling Times!
Cunning stunts indeed! Happy Hiring
40 Executive Hire News - June 2022
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