PR Watch, Third Quarter 2001, Volume 8, No. 3

To understand the evolution of corporate strategies
for defeating environmentalism, it helps to look at the career of E. Bruce
Harrison, known today as the inventor of "environmental public relations."
Harrison's career began when he helped the pesticide industry attack Rachel
Carson and her classic 1962 environmental book, Silent Spring. By
the 1970s, however, Harrison realized that attacking environmentalists had
its downside, and he began advising his clients in the art of corporate
camouflage--a strategy that environmental groups have labeled "greenwashing."

align="BOTTOM">The greenwashing strategy emerged at the same
time that the environmental movement was undergoing an internal transformation.

by Andy Rowell

Senior members of the United Kingdom's environmental
community courted some of the world's most ecologically controversial
companies at a seminar in late June 2001 held at the London Chamber of
Commerce.

align="BOTTOM">Companies such as Balfour Beatty, Cargill,
Du Pont, Monsanto, Nirex and Syngenta attended the conference about "Getting
Engaged" to the environmental movement. They heard talks from Peter Melchett,
the former head of Greenpeace UK and now policy advisor to the pro-organic
Soil Association, as well as top representatives from green groups including
Friends of the Earth (FoE) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

by Sheldon Rampton and John Stauber

Nearly four years ago, a report
on global warming in the Fourth Quarter 1997 issue of PR Watch
stated that the Burson-Marsteller PR firm created the Global Climate
Coalition to help the oil and auto industries downplay the dangers of
global warming. We based this statement on a source which we regarded
as reliable. Burson-Marsteller made no attempt to deny this claim until
July 2001. Following a recent denial from Burson-Marsteller, however,
we have undertaken a thorough review of our files and have spoken with
several sources, none of whom can substantiate this claim.