Greenwash of the Week: Subaru’s wildlife parking lot
So we’re starting a new feature on the Understory: the Greenwash of the Week. If you’re not familiar with the term, which comes from “whitewash,” it refers to companies trying to make their products or activities appear environmentally friendly even when they are not. It didn’t take long for corporate PR departments to figure out that it is a lot cheaper to tell people that their practices are environmentally sound than to actually change their behavior (by way of illustration, take a look at this handy explanatory cartoon).
This week’s greenwash? Subaru’s farcical new ad about their “green” plant in Indiana, which they describe as a “role model for the environment” that has been “designated a wildlife habitat.” If that’s not enough for you, check out the longer version here (listen to how the actor says the word “rabbits.”)
Now, first of all, it turns out that the certification scheme that they used to get that designation, the NWF’s backyard habitat program, while laudable, isn’t exactly what I’d call “rigorous.” If you’d like to get your yard certified, fill out the form on this page. (Bonus: see if you can spot any actual wildlife in the Google Earth images of the Subaru plant).
Second, and more importantly, Subaru is a car manufacturer. The plant in which they build their cars, while not insignificant, pales in comparison to the fact that they build cars at all. They don’t make plug-in hybrids, or hybrids of any kind. As this discussion over at Switchboard points out, they reclassified much of their fleet as light trucks to escape emissions standards. The very nature of their product supports unsustainable lifestyles.
Diverting attention from their environmental impact as a whole to the plant where they make their cars is a classic greenwash, and it’s our first Greenwash of the Week.
7 Responses to “Greenwash of the Week: Subaru’s wildlife parking lot”
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August 15th, 2007 at 8:17 am
Simple Question: is the Subaru plant better than others? Just because you don’t like the fact that they aren’t going into the black to go green doesn’t mean they are not trying.
The Google earth photo of my house is now over 1 year old, so I discount the photo without a proper date applied.
Just so you know, I drive a Honda Civic Hybrid, My wife drives a hybrid and we have a 2.9kW (2.5kW A.C.) photovoltaic system on our home, it covers our expected use annually.
I don’t like the slant of your story. I think you should be ashamed of yourself.
August 15th, 2007 at 8:23 am
The point is this: how good their plant is doesn’t matter much in comparison with the nature of their product. So no, it’s not better, considering that they make the same old cars there. If companies can get green cred for making cosmetic improvements, they aren’t being held accountable for their real environmental impact. Ad campaigns like this one are a deliberate attempt on their part to deceive the consumer. If no one calls them out on it, they get away with it.
Why, exactly, should I be ashamed of myself for pointing this out?
August 15th, 2007 at 9:35 am
Oh come on, seriously, “a little piece of heaven”?
This plant is in the town I grew up in, Lafayette, Indiana. It’s right next to an interstate highway and I pass it whenever I go home for the holidays. It’s no more a nature habitat than the undeveloped field on the other side of the highway–which I should point out, doesn’t produce SUVs.
I remember when Ford was trying to get a bunch of green cred for its Rouge River plant. A technical marvel, to be sure, but it’s a shame they didn’t embrace the same level of innovation with the F-150s it would pump out all day long. The tons of carbon emitted by the trucks sort of canceled out the fancy way they were made.
This is polishing the brass on the Titanic. If they really want to make a difference, I can think of some better solutions.
April 11th, 2008 at 2:30 pm
THAT IS REALLY A LAUGH!!!!.
We have a backyard habitat certificate and I do pass that plant often on I65. It is just as much a sham as is BP’s claim they are green, green, green when they want to increase the pollution they release into Lake Michigan and into the air of Lake County, which is already heavily polluted.
April 20th, 2008 at 1:35 pm
Interesting, seems that the slant is just that a slant, and I guess everyone is intitled to their opinion. However, Honda and Toyota produce “hybrids” which use electricity, which in the USA is typically produced by the burining of coal, which is the LARGEST contributor of green house gases, i.e. C02.
Also, Subaru does produce and sell 100k+ PZEV vehicles which are more environmentally friendly than a majority of other conventionally powered cars.
Also, applaud their efforts, how much trash and pollution do you think a “non green” assembly plant puts out?
May 2nd, 2009 at 10:50 pm
While I have no illusions about Subaru’s sudden green “conscience”, I am getting really tired to see Greenpeace resort to such flimsy arguments. A Google Earth photo is all the evidence you have to offer? And the way the actor pronounces “rabbits” is enough for you guys to condemn the ad?
I’m tired of giving Greenpeace the benefit of the doubt, I’m tired of your laughable reporting methods, I’m tired of hearing you preaching to the choir. Ever time I see the name “Greenpeace” attached to a report, I instantly become suspicious of its objectivity and look for another, more reliable source. Fortunately, there are environmentalists and activists out there with more credibility.
Thank you SO MUCH for creating the stereotypes that have become the laughing stock of the opposition, Greenpeace!
November 15th, 2009 at 7:44 pm
Before you go bashing Subaru, take a look at the rest of the environmental stuff that company does. Here’s a short list of things for you to look up:
Subaru’s commitment to recycling as much factory waste as possible and trying to completely eliminate sending any waste to landfills
Subaru received a Gold Award for water waste management from the United States Environmental Protection Agency
Subaru has designed Partial Zero Emissions Vehicles
Subaru’s vehicles are largely made of aluminum so as to maximize how much of the vehicle can be recycled after it is junked
Also, to put this in context, I am a senior in college studying Natural Resource Management (a more practical and applied version of Environmental Science) and I’m the proud owner of a Subaru Forester.