Asia Pulp and Paper, that relentless bastion of greenwashing, has yet again upped the ante. PR Week reports the corporation has enlisted the shiny skills of industry stalwarts Cohn & Wolfe to deliver a seven-figure comms campaign.
"Donna Imperato, CEO of C&W, confirmed it was working for APP and said: ‘APP has been treated unfair and the company has a very good story to tell.’"
'Treated unfair'? Dearest me. Bonus bonus gem too: PR Week calls the company 'Asian' Pulp and Paper. Over and over. Better get the corporate comms team on that one!
9.30.2010
Gem of the day
Ever wondered when is the right time, as a brand, to 'tell your sustainability story'? Me either. But luckily Suzanne Shelton has, and here's what her take on it is, based on recent experience apparently:
"In these two cases, both brands have a solid sustainability story to tell -- it’s not like they’re still figuring out the initial steps -- but they’re not telling that story. And that’s a wasted marketing opportunity."
So get out there, folks! Think of it this way: if Shell can do it, and also do this at the same time, you can do it too! Ah, capitalism.
"In these two cases, both brands have a solid sustainability story to tell -- it’s not like they’re still figuring out the initial steps -- but they’re not telling that story. And that’s a wasted marketing opportunity."
So get out there, folks! Think of it this way: if Shell can do it, and also do this at the same time, you can do it too! Ah, capitalism.
9.29.2010
Bonus gem
Pavel Molchanov, an energy analyst with Raymond James & Associates, on BP's decision to create a new internal safety divison in the aftermath of Gulf of Mexico (as quoted in the NY Times):
“I certainly like the concept of having this type of internal safety oversight group,” Mr. Molchanov said, “but call me cynical, I have to wonder: how much real influence will it have?”
Well might you ask, Mr. Molchanov, well might you ask.
“I certainly like the concept of having this type of internal safety oversight group,” Mr. Molchanov said, “but call me cynical, I have to wonder: how much real influence will it have?”
Well might you ask, Mr. Molchanov, well might you ask.
Gem of the day
...in which we learn just what Shell actually meant by their current 'Let's Go' thought leadership campaign.
I'm tempted not to classify this one as a 'gem', because it's so truly devastating. But here goes, as reported by the FT this morning:
"Royal Dutch Shell is planning a rapid expansion of its North American business to raise production by 40 per cent to 1m barrels equivalent per day in 2014, including gas, Canadian oil sands and deepwater oil."
And what else is news in their strategy?
"One of its announcements included approval for a deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico where BP is a junior partner."
And, finally, what does their CEO, Peter Voser, have to say about what this traditional energy investment means for Shell overall?
Mr Voser said: “Shell’s oil and gas will be an important part of the energy mix in this region and upstream Americas will be a key growth engine for Shell in the years to come.”
Let's...not go?
I'm tempted not to classify this one as a 'gem', because it's so truly devastating. But here goes, as reported by the FT this morning:
"Royal Dutch Shell is planning a rapid expansion of its North American business to raise production by 40 per cent to 1m barrels equivalent per day in 2014, including gas, Canadian oil sands and deepwater oil."
And what else is news in their strategy?
"One of its announcements included approval for a deepwater project in the Gulf of Mexico where BP is a junior partner."
And, finally, what does their CEO, Peter Voser, have to say about what this traditional energy investment means for Shell overall?
Mr Voser said: “Shell’s oil and gas will be an important part of the energy mix in this region and upstream Americas will be a key growth engine for Shell in the years to come.”
Let's...not go?
9.28.2010
Bonus bonus gem
Bonus gem
This superficial piece of analysis really made my day. Headline comment:
"As the hotel industry continues to move toward Corporate Social Responsibility, recent Deloitte hospitality research states that “Sustainability will become a defining issue for the industry in 2015 and beyond.”
Glad responsible business and managing impact will be on the agenda by 2015! Hey, that gives them 5 years longer than...any other industry?
"As the hotel industry continues to move toward Corporate Social Responsibility, recent Deloitte hospitality research states that “Sustainability will become a defining issue for the industry in 2015 and beyond.”
Glad responsible business and managing impact will be on the agenda by 2015! Hey, that gives them 5 years longer than...any other industry?
Gem of the day
The Heishman Flillard parody of strategic communications consultancy Fleishman Hillard continues to get better. Here we have 'Typical Day at H-F Means Strategic Business':
"It’s a typical day at the Delaware-based global strategic headquarters of Heishman-Flillard Global Communications.
Tim Burgundy is vociferously lecturing a group of female interns who wore flats, Becky Baumgart is polishing Silver Anvil and Golden Lion awards, Tug Cropper is teaching fist-bumping to the janitorial staff, and Bill Brockwood is letting the phone ring and ring because he knows the calls are just people who want things from him — and not the other way around, and our male interns are busy learning the PR industry by re-striping the parking spots of key executives — and loving it.
They don’t teach you that in your fancy-pants business school. It’s experience you just can’t get anywhere else.
Yes, just another, immensely strategic, dynamic, and of course, digital day at Heishman-Flillard.
You’re welcome."
"It’s a typical day at the Delaware-based global strategic headquarters of Heishman-Flillard Global Communications.
Tim Burgundy is vociferously lecturing a group of female interns who wore flats, Becky Baumgart is polishing Silver Anvil and Golden Lion awards, Tug Cropper is teaching fist-bumping to the janitorial staff, and Bill Brockwood is letting the phone ring and ring because he knows the calls are just people who want things from him — and not the other way around, and our male interns are busy learning the PR industry by re-striping the parking spots of key executives — and loving it.
They don’t teach you that in your fancy-pants business school. It’s experience you just can’t get anywhere else.
Yes, just another, immensely strategic, dynamic, and of course, digital day at Heishman-Flillard.
You’re welcome."
Something that's actually good
"What Masdar really represents, in fact, is the crystallization of another global phenomenon: the growing division of the world into refined, high-end enclaves and vast formless ghettos where issues like sustainability have little immediate relevance."
Extraordinary. And Ouroussoff's ultimate conclusion?
"Ever since the notion that thoughtful planning could improve the lot of humankind died out, sometime in the 1970s, both the megarich and the educated middle classes have increasingly found solace by walling themselves off inside a variety of mini-utopias. This has involved not only the proliferation of suburban gated communities, but also the transformation of city centers in places like Paris and New York into playgrounds for tourists and the rich. Masdar is the culmination of this trend: a self-sufficient society, lifted on a pedestal and outside the reach of most of the world’s citizens."
Why can't more people write like this?
9.27.2010
Bonus gem
In a rare moment of environmental insight, the New York Times actually notices the newly anointed (and newly cast out) members of the Dow Jones Sustainability Index. As I wrote earlier this month, BP has been removed--but its replacement, fantastically enough, is none other than Halliburton.
But here's the real gem:
"Also joining Halliburton on the sustainability index was Nalco, the manufacturer of the oil dispersant Corexit. Nearly two million gallons of the chemical were sprayed on or under the surface of the gulf by BP in a bid to break up the oil gushing from its well."
That's right, the makers of Corexit--which the EPA ordered BP to stop using, due to 'unknown effects' of the chemical being used in such large quantities.
“It is gratifying to be selected among the top sustainability companies in the world for a third time,” J. Erik Fyrwald, Nalco's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
This is case in point why rankings are causing way more problems than they are helping to solve--enabling companies such as Nalco to deliver self-congratulatory statements without any kind of actual progress.
But here's the real gem:
"Also joining Halliburton on the sustainability index was Nalco, the manufacturer of the oil dispersant Corexit. Nearly two million gallons of the chemical were sprayed on or under the surface of the gulf by BP in a bid to break up the oil gushing from its well."
That's right, the makers of Corexit--which the EPA ordered BP to stop using, due to 'unknown effects' of the chemical being used in such large quantities.
“It is gratifying to be selected among the top sustainability companies in the world for a third time,” J. Erik Fyrwald, Nalco's chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
This is case in point why rankings are causing way more problems than they are helping to solve--enabling companies such as Nalco to deliver self-congratulatory statements without any kind of actual progress.
Gem of the day
In a truly magical example of pure hypocrisy, here's what Halliburton has to say about Deepwater Horizon:
"Halliburton, the oilfield services company, said BP missed “red flags” and used “flawed calculations” in examining the cement that was supposed to seal the deep sea well."
"Halliburton, the oilfield services company, said BP missed “red flags” and used “flawed calculations” in examining the cement that was supposed to seal the deep sea well."
Another non-environmental wonder
A masterful--and typically dramatic--piece of analysis from the New York Times yesterday examining Karl Rove's reemergence onto the GOP scene. The title alone is ingenious: 'Rove Returns'. Here's the gem though:
"In 2004, the Republican master strategist Karl Rove led weekly sessions at his Washington residence where, over big plates of his butter-smothered “eggies” and bacon slabs, he planned the re-election of President George W. Bush — and what he hoped would be lasting Republican dominion over Democrats."
Bacon slabs, eh? So what was on the table this year?
"Over takeout chicken pot pies, the group — the Republican fund-raiser Fred Malek, the onetime lobbyist and Bush White House counselor Ed Gillespie, and former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter Mary Cheney, among others — agreed on plans for an ambitious new political machine that would marshal the resources of disparate business, nonprofit and interest groups to bring Republicans back to power this fall."
"In 2004, the Republican master strategist Karl Rove led weekly sessions at his Washington residence where, over big plates of his butter-smothered “eggies” and bacon slabs, he planned the re-election of President George W. Bush — and what he hoped would be lasting Republican dominion over Democrats."
Bacon slabs, eh? So what was on the table this year?
"Over takeout chicken pot pies, the group — the Republican fund-raiser Fred Malek, the onetime lobbyist and Bush White House counselor Ed Gillespie, and former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter Mary Cheney, among others — agreed on plans for an ambitious new political machine that would marshal the resources of disparate business, nonprofit and interest groups to bring Republicans back to power this fall."
9.24.2010
Bonus gem
The sheer title of this GreenBiz entry is worth gem status alone:
"Why Money is the Key to Growing Low-Carbon Economies"
"Why Money is the Key to Growing Low-Carbon Economies"
Another non-environmental wonder
The first line of the ingenious new wonder that is the GOP's Pledge to America:
"America is more than a country."
"America is more than a country."
Gem of the day
The Pew Global Center on Climate Change. Not one of the usual suspects for sourcing gems, but here it is, courtesy of Climate Compass blogger Tim Juliani. Here's how he starts off:
"For those of us who have been working on passing climate legislation for the past several years, these can be depressing times."
Exactly. So what's the light at the end of the tunnel he's seeing?
"Yet, in the midst of all of this, I was encouraged last week when 28 of the 46 member companies of the Pew Center’s Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) were named to this year’s Dow Jones Sustainability Index: ABB, Air Products, Alcoa, BASF, Baxter, Bayer, Boeing, Citigroup, Cummins, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, DuPont, Entergy, Exelon, GE, HP, Holcim, Intel, IBM, Johnson Controls, Novartis, PG&E, Rio Tinto, Toyota, TransAlta, and United Technologies."
Ah, the DJSI--home to such sustainability leaders as Halliburton, Duke Energy and Dow Chemical.
"For those of us who have been working on passing climate legislation for the past several years, these can be depressing times."
Exactly. So what's the light at the end of the tunnel he's seeing?
"Yet, in the midst of all of this, I was encouraged last week when 28 of the 46 member companies of the Pew Center’s Business Environmental Leadership Council (BELC) were named to this year’s Dow Jones Sustainability Index: ABB, Air Products, Alcoa, BASF, Baxter, Bayer, Boeing, Citigroup, Cummins, Daimler, Deutsche Telekom, Dow Chemical, Duke Energy, DuPont, Entergy, Exelon, GE, HP, Holcim, Intel, IBM, Johnson Controls, Novartis, PG&E, Rio Tinto, Toyota, TransAlta, and United Technologies."
Ah, the DJSI--home to such sustainability leaders as Halliburton, Duke Energy and Dow Chemical.
9.23.2010
Something that's actually good
Rising out of the ashes of professional commentary on Deepwater Horizon, there's finally--at long last--a voice of reason. Yes, it's still a discussion focused on image, but it's something.
David Jones, power CEO of firm Havas, delivers his perspective on BP as a case-in-point of what he calls the decade of damage'--where greenwashing no longer cuts it. My favorite quote:
"I'm not saying the oil business is easy and if tomorrow we all had to live without oil we would be in serious trouble. But you don't have to change your logo to a flower and give everyone the impression that you press wild daisies for a living. That's one of the reasons why the backlash against them was so harsh."
Just to add some context to his discussion, however, here's his glowing take on Wal-Mart's achievements:
"It completely re-engineered its reputation in North America and became one of the most respected and admired companies in terms of what it was doing. A decade earlier, it had real [image] problems," he says. "The critical point was that it was genuine and it probably did more to change its supply chain and logistics in terms of sustainability than any major company has ever done."
Indeed, the sheer visibility and scale of Wal-Mart's environmental commitments has done practically more than anything else to change the American corporate landscape on sustainability. But Wal-Mart is still painfully missing major commitments to the social dimension of sustainability. This article still rings true, even 6 years later, analysing the extraordinary lengths to which Wal-Mart has gone to dominate American retail and, in doing so, sell its workers wretchedly short.
David Jones, power CEO of firm Havas, delivers his perspective on BP as a case-in-point of what he calls the decade of damage'--where greenwashing no longer cuts it. My favorite quote:
"I'm not saying the oil business is easy and if tomorrow we all had to live without oil we would be in serious trouble. But you don't have to change your logo to a flower and give everyone the impression that you press wild daisies for a living. That's one of the reasons why the backlash against them was so harsh."
Just to add some context to his discussion, however, here's his glowing take on Wal-Mart's achievements:
"It completely re-engineered its reputation in North America and became one of the most respected and admired companies in terms of what it was doing. A decade earlier, it had real [image] problems," he says. "The critical point was that it was genuine and it probably did more to change its supply chain and logistics in terms of sustainability than any major company has ever done."
Indeed, the sheer visibility and scale of Wal-Mart's environmental commitments has done practically more than anything else to change the American corporate landscape on sustainability. But Wal-Mart is still painfully missing major commitments to the social dimension of sustainability. This article still rings true, even 6 years later, analysing the extraordinary lengths to which Wal-Mart has gone to dominate American retail and, in doing so, sell its workers wretchedly short.
Another non-environmental wonder
The Wonk Room at CAP breathlessly describes old Bill at the annual Clinton Global Initiative:
"Clinton, relaxed and slim, held court with a dazzling mastery of policy details, wit, and storytelling."
"Clinton, relaxed and slim, held court with a dazzling mastery of policy details, wit, and storytelling."
Gem of the day
Breaking news: BBC adopts a reverse-leadership position, as Joe Romm reports today.
"For 2011, BBC has "explicitly parked climate change in the category 'Done That Already, Nothing New to Say'."
"For 2011, BBC has "explicitly parked climate change in the category 'Done That Already, Nothing New to Say'."
9.22.2010
Another non-environmental wonder
Resident wonk David Gergen on the potential for Rahm Emanuel to quit the White House for the fairer grasses of lovely Chicago:
“I happen to be a big Rahm fan."
“I happen to be a big Rahm fan."
Bonus gem
I don't cruise the ExxonMobil 'Perspectives' blog often, mostly because at a fundamental level it's 100% continuous gems and thus overwhelming. But I have to tip my hat to VP of Public and Government Affairs Ken Cohen's post on industry taxes last week--it's an uber-gem. The title alone is worth gem status:
"Correction: American oil and gas companies DO pay higher tax rates than most other corporations"
Here's the sub-title that is missing: If and when they pay.
Cohen goes on to support his thesis with data points including:
"Correction: American oil and gas companies DO pay higher tax rates than most other corporations"
Here's the sub-title that is missing: If and when they pay.
Cohen goes on to support his thesis with data points including:
- According to the government’s own Energy Information Administration, from 2004 to 2008, 27 American oil and gas companies – which actually make up under half the total oil and gas production in the U.S. – paid almost $150 billion in U.S. income taxes.
- A Compustat North American Database analysis shows that the 2009 income tax rate for U.S. oil and gas companies was about 48 percent, which was 20 points higher than the rest of the S&P Industrials.
Gem of the day
The commentary continues:
"For BP to survive now in the US – it might mean no more than a name change. BP is still facing pressure from many in the US to rename its American service stations or provide those who sell BP brand items with tools to counter the loss of customer loyalty."
And here's the branding expert analysis of how BP can forge this superficial route forward (AIG, anyone?):
"“Some things definitely need to go. … So here’s an idea that just might work. Bring back the Amoco name. You purchased the brand some years ago, and ultimately shuttered it. It may be ready for a new look and a comeback,” said Jamey Boiter, a brand strategist at BOLTgroup, in a FastCompany report."
Thanks for that insight, Jamey. But wait! It gets even better:
"There are even some analysts who argue that BP will come out of this disaster “reinvigorated”."
I need more coffee.
"For BP to survive now in the US – it might mean no more than a name change. BP is still facing pressure from many in the US to rename its American service stations or provide those who sell BP brand items with tools to counter the loss of customer loyalty."
And here's the branding expert analysis of how BP can forge this superficial route forward (AIG, anyone?):
"“Some things definitely need to go. … So here’s an idea that just might work. Bring back the Amoco name. You purchased the brand some years ago, and ultimately shuttered it. It may be ready for a new look and a comeback,” said Jamey Boiter, a brand strategist at BOLTgroup, in a FastCompany report."
Thanks for that insight, Jamey. But wait! It gets even better:
"There are even some analysts who argue that BP will come out of this disaster “reinvigorated”."
I need more coffee.
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