The greenwash lurking across the street

The Greenwash Brigade

A couple days ago, I wandered into my bank - my secondary bank. I’ve been loyal to a local bank that has the most incredible community investment program for more than a decade. But as a new landlord I need easy rent deposit access, so I opened an account in the almost-as-good local bank right across the street.

I had trash, so I asked the teller whether they had recycling. She said, “No, most banks don’t recycle, but we’re going green - I made this poster,” and held up a sheet of paper. “But I’m waiting to put it up until we have recycling.”

In my surprise (how could they go green if they hadn’t long since figured out recycling?) I responded, “Great! What is the bank doing to be green?” She looked around nervously and said, “We close the blinds to keep the heat out, and…,” she trailed off, “Alex could tell you more…”

I don’t recall my exact words, but I said it would be a mistake to post the sign, recycling doesn’t make for a green business, they’d be greenwashing (I defined it), and in our neighborhood people care about that sort of thing.

Don’t get me wrong, I like this bank. But there’s nothing worse than when a business I’m happy to patronize — because they’re local and support the community — greenwash. Most often, it’s because they don’t know any better.

Somewhere in there, Alex wandered over. He mentioned that this branch had won the “greenest branch” competition, and that the building was green. It’s a super walkable/bikeable/busable location and design, and the finishes are green, but I watched the building go up. Knowing it was supposed to be a green building, I predicted a number of shortcomings, including the overheating problem that results in saving energy by “closing the blinds.”

I offering my services if they were serious about going green. I encouraged a sign that said, “Greenest ——- branch.” We had a good discussion of what they could do as a business and how to get management on board. I answered some of the teller’s personal questions about recycling in her apartment building.

I hope they don’t screw it up. I’m also wondering how I can help them along, because if they go far enough, I’ll move all my accounts to the most convenient bank location ever.

November 3, 2008 by Janne K. Flisrand
1 comments

tags: banks local business recycling

Comments (1)

Michael Gale | Respond
November 25, 2008 2:46 PM PT

"If they go far enough?" Recycling? Green branches -- 'tis but a good start! We had a few bankers come to us to help them brand their new green bank...we pushed them to where all business needs to go...and hence this bank is in the "in organization" phase of opening. Please check it out and let me know what you think: keep in mind this website is an interim place-holder. The bank is not open yet: www.e3bank.com

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Meet the Greenwash Brigade

Our hand-picked environmental professionals, each part of the Public Insight Network, are on the hunt for "greenwash" as they examine eco-friendly claims by companies, governments and other groups. They ask tough questions about the mainstreaming of green, from the perspectives of people in the trenches who are focused on these issues 24/7.

Jim Nicolow is a nationally recognized expert on sustainable design and leads the sustainability initiative for Lord, Aeck & Sargent, overseeing the incorporation of sustainable design strategies and features into the firm’s design projects. He is a LEED® Accredited Professional with extensive knowledge of the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED rating system.

Janne K. Flisrand has worked as an affordable housing and urban planning research consultant for five years, primarily supporting local non-profits. Her focus is on transit, transit-oriented design, affordable housing, and sustainability. Currently, she’s the program coordinator for Minnesota Green Communities, a program promoting affordable, healthy, sustainably built housing throughout Minnesota.

Dennis Markatos-Soriano recently completed a Master's in Public Affairs at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School. He is now launching Sustainable Energy Transition (SET) to help individuals and institutions move from dependence on oil and gas to an efficient use of renewables. Previously, he co-founded SURGE (Students United for a Responsible Global Environment), which aims to bring young progressives together across issues of environmental and social justice throughout North Carolina and beyond. In the summer of 2006, he helped to start a small green company, Greenway Pedicabs, to provide a greenhouse gas-free transportation option for people in the Triangle of North Carolina.

Heidi Siegelbaum is a principal with Calyx Sustainable Tourism and works primarily on advancing sustainable tourism practices. She also specializes in science translation, cross-border indicators with Canada, cross-disciplinary planning and environmental technical assistance to businesses. Previously, she was in-house legal counsel for EPA for industrial chemicals and biotechnology and the senior performance measure analyst with the Washington State Department of Ecology. She is on the technical advisory committee of the Seattle Culinary Academy and a long standing member of the Chefs Collaborative.

NOTE: The opinions expressed by the Greenwash Brigade bloggers and those providing comments are theirs alone, and do not reflect the opinions of American Public Media or its employees. American Public Media is not responsible for the accuracy of any of the information supplied by the Greenwash Brigade bloggers.

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