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BP: bye bye planet

greenwash patrol | 19.04.2001 21:41

Oil giant provokes expose of 'beyond petroleum' greenwash

Security guards rushed to the defence of BP officials as they were harangued by Reclaim the Streets de-branding activists at the Natural History Museum today.

This act of political theatre (despite the name badges, the suits weren't really from BP) was staged to coincide with the company's annual general meeting in London, which it had the audacity to hold on World Car Free Day.

To compound the irony, BP currently sponsors the Ecology exhibition at the Natural History Museum, an attempt to re-brand oil production as an environmentally friendly activity.

Today activists posed as 'greenwash officals' and argued with 'eco protesters' at the entrance to the Ecology exhibition. The protesters unfurled a banner proclaiming "BP: bye bye planet", using a parody of the company's logo as a fiery red spark set to detonate a planetary time bomb. Meanwhile, 2000 leafets were handed to enthusiastic visitors, who had no problem joining the dots to a corporate infiltration of the Musuem.

Elsewhere in London, activists stickered the subverted BP logo at BP stations and BP sponsored exhibitions at the Tate Modern and British museums. Leaflets were also handed out to shareholders at the BP AGM at London's Royal Festival Hall, describing how the company moving 'beyond petroleum' is in fact increasing oil production.

greenwash patrol
- Homepage: www.bpamoco.org.uk