Dec 31 2008

Too Much of a Green Thing?

Posted by: Katie Romans

As reported by William Brent, on his Search for Cleantech blog, the term 'green' finally made Lake Superior State University's list of four-letter words for 2008 -- officially, the 34th annual List of Words to Be Banished from the Queen's English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.

But, this isn't the first time 'green' has suffered a black eye from overuse.

According to Wikipedia, initial backlash came more than 20 years ago, when suburban New York environmentalist Jay Westerveld coined the term 'greenwashing' in an essay about hotel green placards, promoting reuse of guest towels to "save the environment." In hindsight, this infraction seems relatively mild compared to some of the cases of greenwashing we have seen since then.

From my cube here at PG&E, located squarely at the intersection of communications and energy, I have unique insight into this issue. It is truly embedded into our day-to-day work -- ensuring there is substance in the promotion of our environmental efforts and transparency in communications about potential environmental issues. For example, we try to make sure customers know the energy efficiency benefits of CFLs, but also about their mercury content and the need to dispose of them properly to mitigate potential environmental impacts. PG&E's Corporate Responsibility Report has more on our environmental efforts.

Now, back to the list...

Other environmental buzzwords on the naughty list for 2008 are 'carbon footprint' and 'carbon offsetting.' Not surprisingly, 'maverick' topped the list for campaign-speak. But, perhaps more amusing than the list itself are the quotes testifying to the unctuousness of each word.

My personal favorite comes from Ed Hardiman of Bristow, Va.:

"If I see one more corporation declare itself 'green,' I'm going to start burning tires in my backyard."

Yikes. Here's hoping for no tire fires in 2009.

(Note: William Brent and I worked together at PR/IR firm Weber Shandwick, where he started the firm's cleantech practice.)

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