Episode 38: Of Greenwashing and 'Hipster Nations'

This episode looks at the role of environmental policy as a component of international image and the question of whether countries are following corporations and ‘greenwashing’: laying claim to environmental reputations that they don’t deserve. Cases discussed include Australia, the US and the countries of the Middle East, stuck with a reliance of fossil fuel extraction. Simon argues that whatever the reality the simple fact of the conversation around sustainability is positive as it contributes to a global bandwagon effect by which taking care of the environment is universally expected. Simon also suggests that a middle tier of what he calls 'Hipster Nations' which emphasize the environment has now emerged -- New Zealand, Costa Rica, Chile, Slovenia and so forth -- and are changing the global conversation. Nick looks at the long arc of environmental issues in post-Cold War propaganda and wonders what issues emerging today will be critical to reputations in the future.

You can listen to Episode 38: Of Greenwashing and 'Hipster Nations' online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Episode 38: Of Greenwashing and 'Hipster Nations' is an episode from People, Places, Power by Nick Cull & Simon Anholt.

This episode is 30:31 long.

This episode was published on Aug 5, 2022.

Yes. Use the heart button on the episode page to add it to your favorite episodes list.

Yes. This page shows related episodes from People, Places, Power when more episodes are available from the podcast feed.