• HSBC is making a pitch that it is environmentally responsible. But one can question whether giving coupons for online shopping is eco-conscious, regardless of what products are on sale. Conservationists have heavily criticised HSBC for helping to sell pounds 870m worth of Chinese government bonds, saying the money will be used to build vast new dams in breach of global environmental agreements. Ecologists claim the move raises serious doubts about public promises from the banking giant's chairman, Sir John Bond, to put environmental and social responsibility at the heart of its investment and lending policies. Beside other major investment houses, such as Goldman Sachs and UBS, HSBC has been hired by the China Development Bank to help raise EUR 500m (pounds 330m) from within Europe and by the Chinese Export Import Bank (CEIB) to place a further $1bn (pounds 540m) worth of bonds worldwide (The Independent, July 25, 2004).

Even so, HSBC's website does have a carbon use calculator, and they have begun offering flourescent bulbs to people who may very well have none. So it's not clear cut that they are cynically using the environment. It would be reasonable to say that they are not consistent or deeply engaged.

• Waste Management, Inc. has been urging viewers of its greenwashing ads to "think green." Here's what PR Watch had to say about them:
  "Waste Management, Inc. (WMI), the nation's largest waste hauler, owns and operates at least 115 landfills nationwide. The company owns a part interest in many other dumps. At a time when it is univerally recognized that landfills pollute the environment, WMI is our most aggressive and committed landfiller. Many, if not all, WMI landfill sites seem likely to become superfund sites in the future.