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In an article that kicks off by cramming in a dizzying glut-fest of as many marketing buzzwords as possible, Ethical Corporation have written an interesting piece about how social media appears to be driving sustainability in big business these days.

This whole episode between Ecotricity vs EDF in the French nuclear giant's stealing of Ecotricity's Union Jack has brought a lot of focus to the whole issue of greenwashing again.

Have you seen those green union flags doing the rounds? On the 10th June this tweet came from @ecotricity on twitter:

The Green Britain flag you may have seen on the TV etc is not ours! EDF the French nuclear power company has stolen it!

The very next day I spotted one of the green union flags in the nearby town of Aldershot on a billboard in the High Street. This street advertising was part of a campaign which has been gathering momentum both online and on TV with what seems like a huge campaign.

Back in December we brought you news on the advertising campaign by energy supplier E.ON called Reduce your Carbon Footyprint. To summarise, it's all about getting English football fans to do their bit to reduce their carbon footprint by taking the coach and car-sharing to football matches, specifically the FA Cup. Football & energy suppliers? That's a strange mix. So what's in it for E.ON then? Well, E.ON sponsor the FA Cup which is next weekend.

HSBC are the latest corporation to want your green.

"Why not do your bit and help the environment by Going Green with an HSBC current account?"

The Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation are currently promoting themselves in a "go green" promotion where they promise not to send you paper bills and to contact you only via email or phone wherever possible in order to save paper.

Ever heard the term "Greenwash" before? Well, it's a bit like whitewash but used in an environmental context.

If you're unfamiliar with the term, whitewash basically means "Concealment of flaws or failures" as in to "gloss over" misdemeanours, faults or errors.

"Greenwash", according to Webster's New Millennium Dictionary of English, means;

"the practice of promoting environmentally friendly programs to deflect attention from an organization's environmentally unfriendly or less savory activities; also called greenwashing"