‘Appalling’ Earth Day greenwashing must not detract from message, says protest founder

Denis Hayes, who coordinated the first event in 1970, denounces fossil fuel companies that use the event to get positive publicity

Picture: Marc O'Sullivan

Corporate greenwashing should not undermine the message behind Earth Day and has nothing to do with its original aims, one of the founders of the annual environmental event has warned.

Denis Hayes, the American environmental activist who coordinated the first Earth Day in 1970, denounced the “appalling” environmental messaging by oil, gas and other extractive companies and said he hoped it did not distract attention from the threats posed by the climate crisis and biodiversity loss, which he compared to the threat of nuclear conflict during the cold war.