This presentation gives brief information about the greenwashing of renewable energy industries and products which claim to be emission free and clean energy.

2. Contents
1. Introduction
2. History of Greenwashing
3. Types of Greenwashing
4. Identifying Greenwashing
5. Existing Greenwashing Technologies
6. Case Study
7. Mitigative Measures
8. Conclusion
9. References
2

3. Greenwashing is when a
technology or industry spends
more time and money on depicting
themselves as environmental
friendly than on minimizing their
environmental impact.
Introduction
3

4. History of Greenwashing
• The term first appeared in the 1970’s
• Coined by Jay Westerfield
• Combination of “green” and “whitewash”
• Began in response to the 1960’s environmental movement
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5. Types of Greenwashing
a) Environmental Imageries
b) Misleading Labels
c) Irrelevant Claims
d) Overinflated Phrases
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6. How To Identify Greenwashing
• Look for proof of green practices.
• Declarations from an industry that it is slightly greener
than the rest.
• “Greening” dangerous technologies to make it seem
safe.
• Using jargon or information that only a scientist could
check or understand
• Presenting totally fabricated data as fact.
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7. Existing Greenwashing Technologies
• Most electricity generated from biomass
is produced by direct combustion.
• Biomass is burned in a boiler to produce
high-pressure steam.
• This steam flows over a series of turbine
blades, causing them to rotate. The
rotation of the turbine drives a
generator, producing electricity.
1. Biomass Energy
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8. Greenwashing by Biomass Power Plant
• Trees remove CO2 from the atmosphere, and burning wood returns it.
But recent evidence shows that the use of wood as fuel is likely to
result in net CO2 emissions and may endanger forest biodiversity.
• When power plants use biomass as fuel in particular biomass that
comes from forests they can increase carbon emissions compared to
coal and other fossil fuels for decades.
• From emissions of PM, nitrogen oxide, which contributes to ground-
level ozone pollution, various carcinogens, and carbon monoxide, it’s
clear that the air pollution created when power plants burn biomass is
toxic and dangerous.
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9. 2. Nuclear energy
• Nuclear power is the use
of nuclear reactions to
produce electricity.
• Nuclear power can be obtained
from nuclear fission, nuclear
decay and nuclear
fusion reactions.
• Presently, the vast majority of
electricity from nuclear power is
produced by nuclear
fission of uranium and plutonium
in nuclear power plants. 9

10. Greenwashing by Nuclear Power Plant
• Uranium extraction, transport and
processing produces emissions.
• A report released in 2014 by the
UN's IPCC, estimated a range of 3.7 to 110
grams of CO2 eq/(kWh).
• Nuclear power releases 3.5 times more CO2
per kilowatt-hour than photovoltaic solar
panel systems. When up against electricity
from hydropower installations, nuclear
generates 29 times more carbon.
10

11. 3. Blue Hydrogen
Blue hydrogen is referred to hydrogen made either through SMR
(Steam Methane Reforming) of natural gas or coal gasification, but
with carbon dioxide capture and storage.
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12. Greenwashing by Blue Hydrogen
• Blue hydrogen produces 20%
more carbon emissions in heat
generation than using natural
gas.
• This is partly because additional
electricity is needed to run
carbon-capture equipment,
which, if derived from natural
gas, leads to greater methane
leakages and increased carbon
emissions. 12

13. 4. Solar Energy
• Solar Panel is an indispensable
component of the system
• Solar panel is responsible to
collect solar radiation and
transform it into electrical
energy.
• Solar panel is an array of several
solar cells(Photovoltaic Cells).
The arrays can be formed by
connecting them in parallel or
series connection depending
upon the energy required. 13

14. Greenwashing by Solar Energy
• In the name of green and clean energy, we are continuously
emitting CO2 during the manufacturing of solar cells.
• Solar Panels require pure silica and for this mining is to be done.
Emissions from drilling, blasting, dozing equipment and
transportation vehicles, in addition to wind erosion of stockpiles.
• The emissions from drilling activity consists of particulate matter,
while blasting activity contains residues of explosive materials
used and its combustion products like oxides of nitrogen, in
addition to particulate matter from the blast effect.
14

15. 5. Wind energy
• A wind turbine is a power
generating device that is
driven by the kinetic energy
of the wind
• The wind’s kinetic energy is
converted to mechanical
power.
• Modern uses of wind energy
are helps in generation of
electricity and water
pumping 15

16. Greenwashing by Wind energy
• Carbon emissions from wind power jumps to 13 times more CO2
• Most of the Wind turbine blades are made of fiberglass. Fiberglass
operations can produce emissions of toxic air pollutants, including
styrene and volatile organic compounds.
• Chemicals in these substances can also react in the air to form
ground-level ozone (smog), which has been linked to a number of
respiratory effects.
16

17. 6. Greenwashing by Green Crackers
• Green crackers or eco-friendly crackers was manufactured to leave a
lesser impact on the environment and pose lesser health risks from
alternative raw materials.
• Green crackers don’t contain barium, magnesium or carbon in high
content making them partially eco friendly.
• The heavy metals in green crackers add to the toxic pollution in the air.
• Green crackers use harmful chemicals like potassium nitrate and
aluminium instead of magnesium and barium which are even more
harmful.
17

18. Case Study on Greenwashing by easyJet
• easyJet perceived as an environmental-friendly
airline. One of the most high-profile developments
in green airline development is easyJet’s introduction
of “easyJet ecoJet” in 2007.
• The communications regarding the ecoJet
particularly focussed on the reduction of
atmospheric (CO2 and NOx) as well as noise
pollution.
• An unusual move by an airline developing a new
aircraft rather than traditional aircraft manufacturers,
however easyJet claimed that “the ‘easyJet ecoJet’
was realistic and it was achievable.
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20. • The airline highlighted its environmental commitment by stating “easyJet
is already setting the environmental standard in the airline industry”.
• easyJet’s green communication was a comment titled “Airlines must play
their part in saving the planet” also that Fuel is the largest single cost
item in the aviation industry and that they are heavily incentivised to
minimise its use and therefore CO2 emissions.
• It seems more of a speculative airline industry’s wish list than a firm
proposal and it incorporates some very advanced technologies that are
many years away.
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21. • While the company points out that it managed to reduce its CO2
emissions over the last ten years, it also admitted that from 2011 to 2012
its emissions slightly rose from 84.6g per passenger kilometre to 85.5g.
Hence the claim “easyJet emits 22% less CO2” was misleading.
• Despite significant improvement in environmental efficiency, the
growth in air traffic has outweighed the efficiency gains. This is clearly
unsustainable.
• With regard to complaints to the ASA, the regulator upheld a complaint
that a figure of 1.6% of aviation’s contribution to climate change was
too low and therefore misleading.
It’s Greenwash, of course..
21

22. Mitigative Measures
• The easiest way to mitigate the environmental impact of
biomass is to simply not rely on it in the first place.
• Building solar panels and solar cells from recycled materials
(E-waste, Trash, etc.), high-purity silicon from old modules
could be reused for new solar cells.
• Replacing traditional solar cells by Organic Solar cells and
Dye-sensitized Solar cells.
• Prioritizing Green hydrogen over Blue Hydrogen .
• Recycling and reuse of used uranium fuel in Nuclear power
plant instead of mining for more.
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23. Conclusion
• The industries and organizations are coming up
with green tactics to mimic their technology as
Green in order to claim subsidies or to boom
their production and usage.
• Another vital reason is the ignorance and knowledge
gap between public’s knowledge and environmental issues.
• The disadvantage of this context is that the real green companies will lose
their footings in competition.
• The industry or organization should avoid deceiving the public through
greenwashing and support truly sustainable technologies.
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24. References
1. Howarth, Robert & Jacobson, Mark. (2021). How green is blue
hydrogen. Energy Science and Engineering. 9. 10.1002/ese3.956.
2. Mayer, Robert & Ryley, Tim & Gillingwater, David. (2014). The Role of
Green Marketing: Insights from Three Airline Case Studies. The
Journal of Sustainable Mobility. 1. 46-72.
10.9774/GLEAF.2350.2014.no.00005.
3. Netto, Sebastião & Sobral, Marcos & Ribeiro, Ana & Soares, Gleibson.
(2020). Concepts and forms of greenwashing: a systematic review.
Environmental Sciences Europe. 32. 10.1186/s12302-020-0300-3.
4. Using wood as fuel source could actually increase CO2
emissions, Chelsea Harvey, Niina Heikkinen, E&E News,March 23,
2018 24