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Tag:

greenwashing

More Greenwashing 2.0: Another Biofuels Credit Fraud Scheme Exposed

More Greenwashing 2.0: Another Biofuels Credit Fraud Scheme Exposed

written by Eric Lane

In previous posts (e.g., here and here), I’ve discussed cases of fraudulent renewable energy credits and other environmental crimes and argued they ought to be considered greenwashing.

A recent indictment is another case in point.  The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) recently announced that a federal grand jury in Houston, Texas indicted an individual for allegedly selling fraudulent renewable identification numbers (RINs).

The indictment alleges that an individual using the name Philip Joseph Rivkin operated and controlled several Houston-based fuel companies including Green Diesel LLC, Fuel Streamers Inc. and Petro Constructors LLC.

The defendant allegedly claimed that Green Diesel produced millions of gallons of biodiesel at its Houston facility then generated and sold about 45 million RINs based on the claim.  However, according to the indictment, Green Diesel did not actually produce any biodiesel at its facility.  The defendant allegedly made millions of dollars selling the fraudulent RINs.

This type of fraudulent activity undermines the policy goal of RINs – to ensure a certain level of renewable fuel in U.S. gasoline – by damaging the market for valid RINs and ultimately reducing the actual volume of biofuels in circulation.

According to a spokesman for a biodiesel trade group quoted in this StarTribune article, the RIN scam has hurt the biofuels industry by making obligated parties more wary of purchasing the credits from biodiesel producers.

The fraud and resulting damage are recognizable when we view the putative RIN purchasers as green consumers, albeit commercial consumers instead of individuals, falling victim to false representations about the validity of renewable energy-based financial products.

In apparent recognition of the damage caused by fraudulent RINs, Biofuels Digest reported that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency recently finalized additional regulations to ensure oversight of RIN generation and improve the RIN market.



July 24, 2014 0 comment
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In LED Greenwashing Case Court Unplugs Lights of America

written by Walter Wang

A previous post discussed an action brought by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission (FTC) against Lights of America (LOA), charging the California LED lamp maker of violating the FTC Act by making false or unsubstantiated advertising claims about its products.

In a recent decision, a Los Angeles federal court

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October 8, 2013 0 comment
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On Environmental Crimes and Greenwashing 2.0

written by Walter Wang

Incidents of greenwashing continue apace, increasingly in the realm of what I call Greenwashing 2.0, i.e., misrepresentations in business dealings relating to commercial cleantech equipment and services as opposed to marketing consumer products.

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September 10, 2013 1 comment
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Class Action Suit Says Sunrun’s Electricity Price Ain’t Right

written by Walter Wang

A Greentech Media piece picked up an interesting item: a recently filed class action lawsuit accusing residential solar provider Sunrun of making deceptive statements about the rising cost of electricity to make its solar installations more attractive to consumers.

The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court,

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March 12, 2013 1 comment
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Court Issues Split Decision in Cargill’s Renewable Fuel Credits Greenwash Case

written by Walter Wang

The Renewable Fuel Standard (“RFS”) Program is an EPA program promulgated under the Clean Air Act which mandates that certain “obligated parties” must sell gasoline containing a certain percentage of renewable fuel. To ensure that sufficient volumes of renewable fuel are produced in and imported into the U.S., companies in the gasoline business are required

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January 22, 2013 0 comment
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Falsely Over 40? Hyundai and Kia Collide with Consumer Class Actions Alleging Greenwash

written by Walter Wang

A host of proposed class action lawsuits (e.g., Krauth-Hyundai Complaint; Quiroz-Kia Complaint; Graewingholt-Hyundai Kia Complaint; Olson-Hyundai Kia Complaint) have been filed in the last several weeks against one or both of Kia and Hyundai accusing the Korean automakers of making false or misleading fuel efficiency claims in their advertising and marketing materials.

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December 17, 2012 0 comment
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The Tragicomic Case of Wind Wire’s Greenwash

written by Walter Wang

Wind Wire is a South Bend, Indiana, installer of residential wind turbines.

In August 2010 Roger and Patricia Finney sued Wind Wire in Indiana state court for alleged greenwashing in connection with a residential wind turbine system.

The Finneys’ central charge was that the company

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November 21, 2012 0 comment
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British Consumer Watchdog Shuts Down Trump’s Category-Defying Anti-Wind Ad

written by Walter Wang

The UK’s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) recently shut down an anti-wind power ad run by the Trump Organization and Communities Against Turbines Scotland on the grounds that the picture and text of the ad were misleading (see the Treehugger piece here).

The ad (reproduced below) said “Welcome to

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October 26, 2012 0 comment
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Will London’s 2012 Summer Olympics Set New Social Innovation and Green Records?

written by Walter Wang

The Olympic torch has arrived in the U.K. and is now making its way to London for the 2012 Summer Olympics. This capital city is striving to keep its pledge to ensure that these Games will include social innovation and be the greenest games ever. A new progress report, ‘Delivering Change’ was released this April suggests the London planning committee is

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May 30, 2012 0 comment
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DeWind Alleges Wind Farm Greenwash

written by Walter Wang

DeWind Co. (DeWind) is a vertically integrated global wind company headquartered in Germany.

One part of DeWind’s business is wind farm development, and in 2009 the company entered into an agreement with Glenmore Wind Farm, Urban Power, and Prelude by which it agreed to pay

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April 6, 2012 2 comments
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The 6 Reasons Why Companies Should Embrace CSR

written by Walter Wang

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) is not going to solve the world’s problems. If it were that easy, the problems would have been solved by now. Rather, CSR is a way for companies to benefit themselves while also benefitting society. When I define CSR to the uninitiated, I typically get three reactions. To a few, it evokes a response that asks, “Isn’t that a bunch of

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February 22, 2012 1 comment
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Metal Industry Group Defeats Plastic Packager in Greenwashing Case

written by Walter Wang

An interesting piece on FoodProductionDaily.com reports on a recent decision involving greenwashing (and apparently reverse greenwashing) claims in Denmark.

The ruling by the Danish Maritime Court is the culmination of a dispute that began in 2008 after

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February 16, 2012 0 comment
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Plastic Bag Makers Do a Reversal in Reverse Greenwash Suit

written by Walter Wang

In previous posts here and here I wrote about a lawsuit in which plastic bag manufacturers Hilex Poly Company (Hilex), Superbag, and API Enterprises took issue with certain statements made by

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October 6, 2011 0 comment
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Plastic Bag Makers Accuse ChicoBag of Reverse Greenwashing

written by Walter Wang

Greenwashing has come to mean making false or deceptive representations about environmentally friendly aspects of products, services or practices.

The vast majority of greenwashing legal actions target product or service providers touting their wares in such a way that misleads consumers about

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July 19, 2011 0 comment
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