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The green-eyed monster

August 20, = 2005

Click here to switch your home to green energy, says Jackgreen's = website.=20 Nature-friendly power - click here for details, says EnergyAustralia. = Renewable=20 energy at no extra cost, says Victoria's Red Energy. In an age when = business has=20 discovered there is money to be made from being seen to be green, = companies are=20 happy to flaunt their green credentials to attract customers.

But green groups are worried the environment is being used as a = marketing=20 ploy to cash in on green trends without delivering any real long-term=20 solutions.

For example, the publicly listed Jackgreen company, backed by the = boutique=20 investment bank Babcock & Brown, guarantees to provide customers = with green=20 electricity at the same cost as electricity sourced from "burnt = coal".

In a TV advertisement featuring the actor and Planet Ark ambassador = Rebecca=20 Gilling, Jackgreen claims its power reduces greenhouse gases because it = is=20 sourced from solar, hydro-electric and wind power.

"Switch now to Jackgreen. You've got nothing to lose. Our environment = has=20 everything to gain," says Gilling.

It may be a compelling sales pitch in the face of evidence that = Australians=20 are the world's biggest per capita greenhouse gas polluters, but green = groups=20 call it "greenwashing".

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission has already = successfully=20 taken a number of companies to court for misleading the public about = their=20 products' green credentials.

The Total Environment Centre, which ran a seminar this week for the = corporate=20 sector on "greenwashing", says it seems some companies are now = greenwashing=20 their reputations with unsubstantiated claims about their business = practices or=20 by using vague terms such as "earth friendly" or "green".

Others are overstating the environmental benefits of their products, = while=20 some might have one "green" division but continue business-as-usual in = other=20 parts of their operation. The centre's Tony Mohr says green marketing is = "much=20 more about your reputation, especially as reputation represents an = increasing=20 percentage of your company's value".

Greenwashing is part of a wider debate about a range of ideas being = promoted=20 to deal with climate change-inducing greenhouse gases. You can pay a = company to=20 plant enough trees to soak up the carbon dioxide emitted by your car, or = offset=20 the greenhouse gas pollution associated with the manufacture of your = product by=20 investing in clean energy technology.

The environment movement is divided about whether these ideas really = help cut=20 greenhouse gas emissions or if we are just paying for our polluting = behaviour=20 and carrying on as normal.

"Increasingly, it's just a public relations strategy," says Danny = Kennedy,=20 campaigns manager for Greenpeace.

"I think it is good to engage people to do something personally but = to=20 pretend this is a solution to climate change is a red herring."

"Carbon-neutral is bandied about as truth but there is not much = evidence that=20 our society is cutting its emissions =85 all of these strategies defer = what we=20 need to do, which is cut coal use and improve energy efficiency."

So-called green electricity is one of the most contentious areas. The = Australian energy sector relies heavily on coal, making it responsible = for more=20 emissions than anything else. Black coal is our cheapest source of = energy. That=20 makes it tough for clean power sources such as wind, solar and new=20 hydro-electric schemes to compete.

As a result of Federal Government regulations, electricity suppliers = now=20 offer customers the chance to buy some clean power. While this is a good = thing,=20 it isn't enough to substantially expand the renewable energy sector. = Only=20 something like a carbon tax will do that.

Green groups say that until renewable energy represents a greater = percentage=20 of energy use, we are doing nothing to cut emissions. However, as long = as=20 companies are clear about what they are selling, it is a step in the = right=20 direction.

That's where Jackgreen comes in. Its website refers to solar and wind = power,=20 but before signing a contract with a wind farm recently it was sourcing = its=20 power from a mix of old and new hydro-electric schemes, says the = company's=20 general manager for strategic operations, Ashleigh Antflick. It hopes to = sign=20 other wind power contracts.

Jackgreen charges customers no more for this power than its = competitors=20 charge for black power. Antflick told the Herald it could afford = to do=20 that because of low overheads.

Renewable energy is usually much more expensive than coal-fired = power.=20 However, "old hydro" (sourced from schemes that have fed into the grid = since=20 before 1997) is not much more expensive than coal, green groups say. = Jackgreen=20 has declined to say exactly how much of its power is sourced from old = hydro and=20 because it is a new company, an independent audit will not be done until = early=20 next year. Where a company sources its renewable power is important, = says the=20 Total Environment Centre's Mohr, because all Australians already buy a = small=20 amount of renewable power. A customer switching to an old hydro-power = product is=20 not increasing the amount of renewable power in the market, just = changing its=20 retailer.

The criticism is unfair, says Antflick. "There is an element [of = material] on=20 our website that could be improved and we want to do that," he says, = while=20 emphasising that none of Jackgreen's power comes from hydro systems that = include=20 large, environmentally unfriendly dams. It also refuses to buy power = generated=20 by burning wood.

"Jackgreen is committed to an independent audit to be conducted at = the end of=20 each calendar year, to verify that renewable energy has been generated = to match=20 our customers' consumption," he adds.

EnergyAustralia's Clean Air product and the Victorian-based Red = Energy have=20 also been criticised for marketing their hydro-electricity products as = special=20 or different from what people are already using.

Australia's electricity grid sources about 90 per cent of its power = from=20 coal, 5 per cent from old hydro and 5per cent from new renewable energy, = such as=20 wind.

EnergyAustralia told the Herald every customer making a = deliberate=20 decision to buy green energy, irrespective of whether it was old or new, = did=20 make a difference. "They have made a conscious decision not to buy black = energy=20 and support the growth of traditional forms of generating electricity," = said a=20 spokeswoman, Sandra Olsen.

Then there are companies that plant trees for a fee on behalf of = motorists=20 and manufacturers. They are accused not of greenwashing but of having a = flawed=20 concept.

Critics say planting trees does nothing to address the real problem - = polluting energy and transport industries. They say trees are not a = secure=20 carbon sink because they can die, be burnt in bushfires or be chopped = down.

"CO 2 warms the atmosphere for about 100 years so you have to = ensure=20 the security of that sink for about the same time," says Anna Reynolds, = climate=20 change manager for WWF, formerly the World Wildlife Fund.

An Australian non-profit organisation called Greenfleet runs a = program that=20 enables people to offset their car's CO 2 impact on the = environment. For=20 $40, Greenfleet will plant 17 native trees on a motorist's behalf.

Greenfleet's executive director, Henry O'Clery, agrees customers are = paying=20 for future carbon offsets because it takes time for the trees to grow. = But he=20 says the group plants more trees than required to match the CO 2=20 associated with its customers and replants when trees die or are lost to = fire.

There is no independent monitoring of how many trees Greenfleet = plants or of=20 the company's carbon sink calculations.

"At this stage you have to take it on trust," says O'Clery, who hopes = to=20 eventually have the program independently audited.

There is some support, however, for companies such as climate = friendly, which=20 encourages energy efficiency and runs a greenhouse gas offset scheme = that allows=20 companies to calculate their emissions and then buy certificates from = it.=20 Climate friendly uses that money to invest in clean energy sources.

Climate friendly encourages its customers to market themselves as = "climate=20 neutral" to boost brand value.

"Telling customers and staff about your actions not only demonstrates = your=20 own climate responsibility but also inspires a wider audience to get = involved,"=20 it says on its website.

The fashion wholesaler Tribal Alliance turned to climate friendly = after=20 deciding to do its bit for the environment. The director, Justin Chung, = says=20 customers who buy the Sydney company's inhouse JC label pay a premium of = between=20 10 per cent and 15 per cent that the wholesaler uses to buy certificates = from=20 climate friendly. JC tags tell shoppers that every garment bought "helps = the=20 environment eliminate CO 2".

Chung admits it's not a "green" product but says it gives "a subtle = hint to=20 the consumer" about doing their bit for the environment.

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1124435140940-smh.com.au<= /FTID>http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/the-greeneyed-monst= er/2005/08/19/1124435140940.htmlsmh.com.auSydney=20 Morning=20 Herald2005-08-20The= =20 green-eyed monsterEnvironmental = groups are=20 guarded in welcoming the corporate sector's new love affair with nature, = writes=20 Wendy=20 Frew.

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