Greenwash; ‘The truth, some of the truth, and a bit of misdirection’

By Emma Dent Coad

 

On chinese solar panels and ‘borough wide free wi-fi’.

RBKC, the home borough of the leader of the ‘greenest government ever’, he who infamously and without permission put a silly little wind turbine on his roof, only to be forced to take it down, has got sucked into what could be described as an exercise in greenwash: ‘a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly’ (Wikipedia).

Our somewhat more extravagant project involved a plan to put solar pv cells on the roofs of the Town Hall and Central Library. This was a step to fulfil our various obligations to reduce carbon use. Then those wretched chaps at Whitehall decided that they would cut FITS payments (Feed-In Tariffs, a system of payment for electricity put back into the grid), by half, and we began to look a bit silly ourselves. The quick response was to reduce the ambitious plan and only fit solar pv to the Town Hall, which was just about possible before the cut-off date in December. This was achieved in time.

However, some might say the sums on this project now look rather unhealthy. We have invested nearly £250,000 in solar cells which – in the unlikely event that the FITS programme continues, and the cells survive that long – could give us a surplus of £80,000. After 25 years.

We are informed, however, that this is not to be considered as a financial investment, the environmental benefits far outweigh that, and residents asked (how many was that I wonder?) have said they think it worthwhile on those grounds. 

But – were they told that the solar pv cells were sent over from CHINA?

In Germany, where they are taking carbon reduction very seriously indeed, they source all their materials and labour as locally as possible, sometimes even setting up a factory and service centre for the purpose, and bringing jobs and local growth into the mix. Sending our money to China, and taking into account the carbon miles to bring the materials to the UK, makes the whole process appear pure greenwash.

On a similar vein, the Council has told us to be very excited about the ‘borough wide free wifi’ that we have been told we are getting this summer. This will be at no cost to the Council, and will actually give us a surplus. Press stories on the subject were ecstatic on our behalf, commenting on the benefits of free wifi for our poorer residents.

One rather important fact was not made clear – the free wifi will cover just two streets: Kensington High Street, and Exhibition Road.

Which is why, ladies and gentlemen, when presented with ‘facts’, you should keep asking questions until you have the entire story, not just the facts that they wish you to know. 

‘The truth, the WHOLE truth, and nothing but the truth.’

 

 Emma Dent Coad is a  Labour Councillor for the Golborne Ward. She has her own blog at http://emmadentcoad.blogspot.com   

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