Greenpeace representatives in dinner jackets and bow ties were today ejected from BP's London headquarters after attempting to present the British oil giant with the first annual "Emerald Paintbrush" award.
Security guards threw out the smartly dressed protestors after they staged an impromptu awards ceremony in the lobby of the building.
Greenpeace plans to award the new prize each year to any company it deems guilty of hiding its environmental impact with misleading advertising.
During 2008 BP ran a multimillion dollar advertising campaign announcing its commitment to alternative energy sources, with slogans including "from the earth to the sun, and everything in between" and "the best way out of the energy fix is an energy mix." (1)
Greenpeace has obtained a presentation which reveals that the company allocated 93% ($20bn) of its total investment fund for 2008 for the development and extraction of oil, gas and other fossil fuels (1). In contrast, solar power (a technology which analysts say is on the brink of a technological breakthrough) was set to receive just 1.39% ($0.3bn).
Greenpeace representatives arrived to hand over the bright green, mounted paintbrush to group CEO Tony Hayward in person at his office in Holborn, London.
Greenpeace spokesman James Turner, who presented the award, said:
"You wouldn't know it from their adverts, but BP bosses are pumping billions into their oil and gas business and investing peanuts in renewables. They've won the 2008 Emerald Paintbrush award because their slogans suggest that they are serious about clean energy, while their actions show they're still hell-bent on oil extraction."
BP is one of the world's largest single corporate emitters. In 2007 alone the company released over 63 million tonnes of Co2 into the earth's atmosphere, roughly equivalent to the emissions of Portugal (3). But while their adverts announce the arrival of a fresh approach, BP boss Tony Hayward continues to describe alternative energy as "a valuable option for the future" (4).
The same presentation reveals that BP intended to spend just $1.5bn this year on all forms of alternative energy - including wind power, wave, solar, tidal, and biofuels and even including some "efficient" natural gas projects. This amount represents just 6.8% of their total investment.
Turner continued:
"While scientists around the world are sounding the alarm over climate change, BP's executives are congratulating their advertising agency for hiding the true nature of their business. The fact is that the investment decisions these guys make today will decide the fate of future generations, and they need to start spending serious money on clean energy, rather than on slick advertisements."
The investment figures are listed in a presentation made by BP CEO Tony Hayward earlier this year. They do not even include the company's investment in a massive oil sands project in Alberta, Canada, which represents one of the most carbon intensive forms of energy extraction in the world.
Greenpeace testing earlier this year also revealed that biodiesel sold at BP forecourts contains uncertified palm oil (5), which is responsible for large scale deforestation in South East Asia. This destruction contributes to massive carbon dioxide emissions and is pushing animals such as the Orang-Utan to the brink of extinction.
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NOTES TO EDITORS:
Greenpeace judges also revealed that the contest had been close. The runners up were as follows:
In second place: German energy company E.ON, for its "Wind of Change" advertising series, which "highlights E.ON's unique and progressive stance on renewable energy". The company also plans to build the UK's first coal fired power station in over 30 years at Kingsnorth in Kent, which would emit the same amount of Co2 as the 32 least polluting countries in the world combined.
Third place: To Virgin Atlantic, for their shameless attempt to garner PR for a "biofuel test flight" that in fact involved a single engine of one of their 747s running on a fuel made partially from coconut and babassu nut oil. The amount of coconuts needed to power this flight alone ran into the thousands, and engineers admitted that this fuel would never be a viable alternative to kerosene for the world's aviation fleet. Bosses at Virgin have also been vocal supporters of a third runway at Heathrow, a proposal which is set to increase the airport's capacity from 480,000 flights per year to 702,000 by 2030.
ENDS
Footnotes:
(1) www.bp.com/multipleimagesection.do?categoryId=13&contentId=7044739
(3) BP's direct Co2 emissions for 2007: 63,460,000 metric tons
Portugal's emissions, 64.96 m tonnes
(5) www.dft.gov.uk/rfa/news&pressreleases/news.cfm?cit_id=230&FAArea1=customWidgets.content_view_1
