Visuality as Greenwashing: The Case of BP and Deepwater Horizon

Abstract

The role that images and visuals play in constructing and shaping reality is the focus of this paper. The paper explores how visuals as modes of narration can be used strategically in the organisational context. In particular, by focusing on BP and their use of images and visuals following from the 2010 Deepwater Horizon incident, the paper displays how powerful the use of visual imagery can be. Central to the paper are the notions of power of visuals, images and greenwashing: power means “to create, transform, or stabilise particular ‘versions’ of reality through visuals and images” used after the Deepwater Horizon incident for which the company is accused (16); greenwashing is seen as a symbolic strategic action that operates, proactively, in framing communications to stakeholders Disclosing information selectively can occur as a result of the increased attention of stakeholders, specifically in the case presented, after a disaster in which the company is involved. Visuals and images are an integral part of greenwashing and have different effects on constructing and describing the organisation. A visual socio-semiotic approach is adopted in this study to analyse the website of BP (from 2006 to 2014), specifically focusing on tracing changes in i) the structure of the website, ii) in colours and symbols, and iii) photographs. Findings are discussed in three distinct periods; i) a pre-disaster narrative, where images are used to expose “new” and “given” information, ii) a post-disaster narrative, that shows information spread between “ideal” and “real”, and iii) a transition period of narratives with a mixed structure. The narratives constructed, using images and visuals, help tell a story (or different stories), affect and influencememorability, decision-making and trust of stakeholders in the company. The case focuses on the power of the images and visuals in enhancing the corporate claims and dispelling greenwashing accusations. Visuals and images can enhance the legitimacy of the company, and in this sense activities of greenwashing can become more powerful by developing sophisticated methods to use images and visuals. The BP case is suitable in describing how in a post-disaster setting, website images act as a way of diverting attention from a catastrophe, towards more sophisticated forms of representing reality, that help in shifting the attention of the readers of the website. The authors suggest that further research could consider the responses and attitudes of users to greenwashing practises, with a focus on the multiplicity of possible interpretations. In-depth analyses on the role of new social media, such as Flickr, Twitter, Facebook and Instagram could also be important in considering how visuals and images shape the organisational narratives in an interplay of dynamic communication that considers the involvement of the readers of images and visuals. Further suggestions for research include deeper understandings of social construction, in the dimension of meaning-making, using visuals and images on websites.