SourceWatch:Project: Documenting General Electric's 'Ecomagination' PR Campaign

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In May 2005 General Electric, which is now ranked as the world's tenth largest company, launched its "Ecomagination" PR campaign. The global PR blitz has been documented a little but somewhat haphazardly. But we'd like to create the best, most authoritative article on what is perhaps the boldest global greenwashing campaign around.

Ideally it would be nice to document:

  • what the company and others said at the official launch of the Ecomagination project in May 2005. Include key points in the first section on the page. Remember to reference key points. (See References. If this is your first time editing experience in a wiki and you find the referencing format a bit daunting, don't worry - just include the web address inside [two single brackets] and another editor can add the full reference details later).
  • any significant reactions to the project arounf the time of the May 2005 launch - both supportive and skeptical. Key points from this should go in the section "The Intitial Reaction". Again, add references as you go.
  • finally, any more detailed reactions afterthe 2nd anniversary of the Ecomagination launch. This material should go in the "Two years on" section.

What Needs Doing

1. Open the Ecomagination" PR campaign page.

2. Open another tab on one of the following sources listed below and have a browse to see if there is anything notable worth adding.

3. If so, click on the "edit the page" tab and add the relevant material into the appropriate section.

4. Enter a note about what you did in the "Summary" box - in this case something like "Ecomagination & XXX" will do.

5. Click "Save page" and you're done!

6. If there are items you are unsure about, or links to pictures etc you think might be worth including on the page, you can post a note to the the 'talk page' by clicking here.

General Electric Sources

  • GE's 'Ecomagination' website
  • GE's 'Ecomagination Media Releases. (Click on "Advanced search" and then select from May 2005 to December 2007 and then Ecomagination in the topic field. This will give a list of all the media releases that they that tagged with the 'Ecomagination' label. See for example this media release about Exelon Corporation signing a contract for two ESBWR nuclear reactors should the company proceed to build new reactors in Texas. While not mentioned in GE's original launch announcement, nuclear reactors have gained "ecomaginationSM certification from GE".)
  • GE 'Ecomagination' Videos on YouTube

General Sources

  • Search SourceWatch's sister site, PR Watch
  • Search Google (both the Google News and the Web on "Ecomagination" and see if there is anything worth including.)

Thanks for taking the time to help.