BA accused of ‘greenwash’ in poll
British Airways has been named as one of the three Footsie 100 companies most guilty of ‘greenwash’ in a survey.
Alongside BP and Tesco, it was given the ‘honour’ by national and trade journalists, sustainability experts and political groups polled in the Chatsworth FOOTSIE 100 green survey.
Meanwhile, Marks and Spencer has retained its reputation as the greenest of the FOOTSIE 100 companies.
Chatsworth said the results reveal an increasing cynicism as to whether UK business will ever aim for anything more than ‘greenwash’ without clear leadership and legislation from the government on environmental issues.
BP (38%), Tesco (21%) and British Airways (10%) are still considered to be most guilty of ‘greenwash’ by respondents
Marks and Spencer (51%) remains the top ‘green winner,’ followed by new entrant BSkyB (9%) and HSBC (7%) which continues to lead in the banking sector. BT Group (6%) are another new entrant
Nick Murray-Leslie, Chatsworth, said: “A massive majority of respondents believe that national governments are responsible for taking the lead on environmental issues. The prevailing opinion is that some businesses will continue to do the bare minimum unless the government steps in with clear changes to legislation.
“Unfortunately Gordon Brown is not perceived to be fulfilling his green commitments, and so it is left to UK business, and indeed the individual, to lead the way. This survey makes it very clear that the public really does believe in fighting climate change, and so the brands that will emerge as the most respected during this time of economic change are those that commit themselves to real green action and honest communication.â€
By Bev Fearis
Bev
Editor in chief Bev Fearis has been a travel journalist for 25 years. She started her career at Travel Weekly, where she became deputy news editor, before joining Business Traveller as deputy editor and launching the magazine’s website. She has also written travel features, news and expert comment for the Guardian, Observer, Times, Telegraph, Boundless and other consumer titles and was named one of the top 50 UK travel journalists by the Press Gazette.
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