Abstract

How do corporations deliberately contribute to blocking political action—instead of promoting real solutions? In the new Greenpeace report, Ursula Bittner shows how greenwashing has long since become a central component of global economic and political strategies. She highlights how companies and lobby groups deceive citizens and torpedo important environmental and climate regulations through misleading advertising claims and lobbying for weak laws. In this way, they secure increasing profits without having to change their core business. In this lecture, we will learn how and why greenwashing came about, why it is so dangerous, and why we are currently experiencing the peak of the greenwashing era. We will learn why “greenhushing” and “greencancelling” are dangerous variations of this strategy—and what ways there are to bring genuine sustainability and climate protection back into focus.