OREO-4. Eco-Friendly or Deceitful Branding: The Implications of Energy Corporations Greenwashing in the United States on Climate Change

Sarah Park¹
Faculty Mentor: Levent Atici, Ph.D.^2
1Ed W. Clark High School
²Division of Research, Office of Undergraduate Research

ABSTRACT
Presented in this study, is an in-depth analysis of the effects of energy companies greenwashing while focusing on the challenges that the status quo presents in transparency of companies’ environmental actions in a policy viewpoint in the United States. The purpose of my research was to see how combating climate change has been complicated due to energy corporations greenwashing in the US. The data in this study primarily focuses on self-conducted research through case studies, predicted company greenwashing rate, the current scope of deceitful tactics, current obstacles companies face towards becoming environmentally friendly, current emissions by energy companies, policy to create tangible change, current state of play of climate change, and more. The scope of the study calls into question the ethics of brands that seek to make a profit while sacrificing the health of their consumers. Research methodologies in this study include but are not limited to, mixed-methods like data conduction, case studies, data analysis, interpretation, observations, and archival research. These results suggest that current energy companies are deceiving their consumers and are not being regulated enough by the government, policy wise. Along with this, such companies are spending a significant amount of lobbying, avoiding specific regulation. On this basis, the concept of greenwashing should be taken into account when actively trying to investigate a company’s environmental friendliness. The findings of this study indicate that there needs to be increased transparency within company policy and tangible change enacted by the federal government to hold energy companies accountable to mitigate climate change.