Coldplay Accused Of 'Greenwashing' Over Partnership With Oil Company

Rock band Coldplay are not only involved in great music, but they are also connected to several other ventures, including philanthropy, politics, activism, partnerships, and endorsements.

Speaking of partnerships, the band recently announced their collaboration with an oil company. Still, several people were not taken with the news, and the artists have received backlash for the decision.  

The music group was reportedly slammed for having an affiliation with Neste, a Finnish oil corporation known for its history with deforestation.

PEOPLE noted that Coldplay got into the partnership to reduce touring radiations during their "Music of the Spheres" World Tour.

Following their announcement, the senior director for the Transport and Environment campaign group Carlos Calvo Ambel called the group "useful idiots" for "greenwashing" regarding Neste's association with deforestation.

He said, "Neste is cynically using Coldplay to greenwash its reputation. This is a company that is linked to the kind of deforestation that would appall Chris Martin and his fans."

The director added, "It's not too late; they should drop their partnership with Neste now and focus on truly clean solutions instead."

Ambel further stated that Coldplay's involvement in the partnership was clearly "well-intentioned;" however, joining forces with a company like Neste was not an ideal decision.

The Grammy winners did not let the criticizing comments slide as they recently addressed the subject with a detailed statement, showing that they were doing their best. The statement read:

"When we announced this tour, we said that we would try our best to make it as sustainable as possible, but that it would be a work in progress. That remains true. We don't claim to have got it all right yet."

It continued, "Before we appointed Neste as supplier of these biofuel products, we received their guarantee that they do not use any virgin materials in their production – most especially not palm oil."

The message went on to note their awareness of Neste using only renewable waste products like cooking oil and derivatives from the manufacture of wood pulp.

In the meantime, a Neste representative stated that the company does "not accept any sustainability violations in our own operations."

In her words, "For our collaboration with Coldplay, conventional palm oil was not used as a raw material," adding "Neste plans to reduce the share of conventional palm oil to 0% of its global renewable raw material by the end of 2023." 

Not only did Coldplay get criticized for their association with Neste, but they were also blasted for partnering with BMW, known to provide 40 rechargeable electric vehicle batteries to fuel the show.

The band released a statement to deal with the criticism, noting that they had reached out to other electric car producers, but BMW was the one who showed interest.

The publication also revealed Coldplay's admission of having "no connection to or influence on their corporate policies."

They were open to better suggestions as they only needed BMW's batteries to power their shows with renewable energy.

Coldplay's "Music of the Spheres" World Tour is now on its North American phase, after which the European lap will commence in summer and conclude this October in South America.

Last December, The Blast revealed Coldplay's intentions to stop releasing albums by 2025, during which they would focus more on tours and some collaborations.

At the time, Chris Martin, the band's frontman, dropped the bombshell while discussing music with Jo Whiley on BBC Radio 2.

The "Ghost Stories" stars have been together for more than two decades and released their first album in 2000. Unfortunately, fans will not get any more of their remarkable pieces in the near future.

On the bright side, the musicians will continue with their stage performances, so avid fans can rest assured that they are not quitting music entirely.

Naturally, critics and supporters reacted differently to Martin's news; some gushed about the electronica artists' works while several gave negative remarks.

According to People, Coldplay has garnered an aggregate of seven monuments, thirty Grammy nominations, and a couple of platinum-selling albums in their career.

In addition, they have collaborated with a number of top-rated artists over the years on their albums, including their ninth studio album, "Music of the Spheres," which was released last October.