Greenwashing the Future: Climate Targets and Forward-looking Discourse in Sustainability Reporting from the Fossil Fuel Industry
Speaker: (opens in a new window)Robin Rauner (University College Dublin)
Wednesday, January 22, 14:00–14:45 (Irish time)
Please register (opens in a new window)here to receive the link and password to the online meeting and information on the room at UCD.
Abstract: Achieving net zero greenhouse gas emissions by mid-century is central to climate policy agendas. As pressure mounts to show progress towards the energy transition, an increasing number of companies are committing to climate targets and risk engaging in “futurewashing”, a new form of misleading communication practice. Pairing the Net Zero Tracker dataset with a novel text corpus, I investigate the relationship between climate targets and forward-looking discourse in the sustainability reports of fossil fuel companies. First, I compare conventional and cutting- edge computational methods to identify forward-looking statements before creating a company-level score for future focus. I then explore associations through regression analysis, indicating that companies with climate targets tend to emphasise the future in messages to stakeholders. The quantitative analysis of corporate climate communication contributes to an emerging understanding of “futurewashing” and can provide empirical insights to inform policymakers and energy citizens.
About the speaker: (opens in a new window)Robin Rauner is a recent Politics & Data Science graduate and currently works as a researcher for the (opens in a new window)Next Generation Energy Systems (NexSys) programme hosted by the UCD Energy Institute. She presented her thesis project on “futurewashing” in corporate climate communication at the Political Studies Association of Ireland’s annual conference in October of last year. Before coming to UCD, she completed her BA in International Relations with a focus on East Asia and worked in startups.