#greenwash

Gaslight

Gatekeep

THERE IS NO SUCH THING

It’s been proven that so called ‘sustainable’ palm oil is even worse for the environment that palm oil but companies use it on their labels to greenwash their products and look good when they’re doing even more damage.

Wilkinson is now in charge of Canada’s climate plan, ranked among the weakest in the G20. With emissions still rising, the global oil and gas sector plans new extraction projects totalling $1.4 trillion USD in the next five years. 85 per cent of that expansion would happen in the U.S. and Canada.

And a big chunk is planned in the Alberta oil sands. Teck’s open-pit Frontier mine would sprawl across an area twice the size of Vancouver, swallowing 3,000 hectares of old growth forest and 14,000 hectares of wetlands. Once built, it would churn out 260,000 barrels of bitumen a day. But only if Trans Mountain is there to carry all that crude away.

Azerbaijan is hosting the next UN climate summit, Cop29, in November. Their proposed agenda omits discussions on phasing out fossil fuels and excludes civil society participation. This is not a surprise. Azerbaijan has recently increased oil and gas production, and aims to diversify its economy by expanding mining. The country has instead called for a global truce to coincide with the conference. In an open letter on September 21, the president of Cop29, Mukhtar Babayev, wrote: “[Cop29] is a unique chance to bridge divides and find paths towards lasting peace … The devastation of ecosystems and pollution caused by conflicts worsen climate change and undermine our efforts to safeguard the planet.” Azerbaijan is positioning itself as a peacemaker. But this stands in stark contrast to the country’s record of military aggression, human rights abuses and violations of international law, which have left it facing allegations of genocide. Azerbaijan is using Cop29 both to “greenwash” and “peacewash” its global image, while in fact it still has expansionist territorial ambitions. In September 2020, Azerbaijan launched a six-week war in Nagorno-Karabakh, a border region claimed by both Armenia and Azerbaijan. The war resulted in more than 7,000 casualties, with Azerbaijan reclaiming most of the territories it had lost in previous conflicts. A ceasefire was brokered by Russia, but tensions persisted.

“Companies are hiring external consultants to help report on ESG, but there aren’t enough checks to guard against greenwash.” [COMMENTARY] I suggest the best ESG consultants form an industry standards group so that companies can rely on their advice. For now, investors and companies need to be somewhat wary of external consultants and their reports from jurisdictions that don’t require ‘external…

I had to do some research into how my country/uni recycles but in the process, I learned more about the various codes

That are used for recycling. And by codes I mean the numbers that are in the little triangle with the arrows, the difference between privately established certifications and public certifications. For example there are some companies that will have their own form of certifying themselves and then slap it on there as if it means something. I have a hard time believing that companies are able to self regulate without outside forces.

One of the most frustrating things I found out in my search though is that my apartment complex has two separate shoots. One for recycling one for garbage. But apparently, they both go to the same place as illustrated below. This was really discouraging to find out however my university has recycling bins across campus so now I just walk the extra block in order to put my recycling where it's supposed to be rather than sending it all to the dump.