Bp

Alberta, Canada - contaminated water from tar sands oil production fills a 2 km wide 'tailings' pool © Greenpeace

Last month our Emerald Paintbrush award presented to BP highlighted how far the company, which previously styled itself as going 'beyond petroleum', has moved back to its traditional profit source at the expense of its alternative energy division, and most likely its long-term profitability.

Investors may have been patting themselves on the back yesterday as BP posted record profits for 2008, but they should be wary - a quick trawl through the figures reveals major flaws in the company's long term investment strategy. Massive profits during the first half of the year (when oil prices reached over $100 per barrel) were undermined by a collapse in the final quarter, when prices fell back to around $40 per barrel.

The tension built as the judges deliberated. Then at last the results were were all in and - ta-da! It was time to announce the winner of the first annual Greenpeace 'Emerald Paintbrush' award for greenwashing above and beyond the call of duty. Cue a quick roll on the drums, and step forward into the spotlight - BP!

The energy corporation with an income larger than most of the world's nation states has spent a lot of time and money restyling itself as being 'Beyond Petroleum' in recent years, but a trawl through their accounts quickly reveals just how empty that assertion really is - 'Back to Petroleum', more like it.

BP greener than Greenpeace? Our survey said 'uh-uh'

During my semi-regular trawl through news stories featuring the word 'Greenpeace' last week, one in particular leapt out: 'BP tops Greenpeace in green brands survey'. But despite the apparent awfulness of that headline, I don't think it's as bad as it looks.

The survey - conducted by Marketing Week and YouGov - delved into the minds of professional marketing gurus to find out which brands they thought were the most eco-friendly. Asked which brand they thought was greenest, M&S came out tops, with names like Innocent, Ecover and the Body Shop also in the top ten. Greenpeace came tenth, one place behind BP but what that headline didn't mention was that BP also garnered fourth place in the list of brands doing the least for the environment, alongside many of our other friends of Shell, ExxonMobil, E.on, British Airways and BAA. So it seems opinions are split as to the oil giant's green credentials.