Well, it was my first reaction when I came to know that Bangladesh lost one of my personal mentors to the tobacco industry. One of my elder brothers form Notre Dame Nature Study Club (Nature Club of my College) joined a Tobacco Company as he started his career. It felt like a grave betrayal. I had loved him, idolized him and respected him. He spent his adolescent years preaching everything eco friendly and then went on to join a company that is the exact opposite.

I asked him about it. His answer was as astonishing as it is true. British American Tobacco is the biggest environmental organization in Bangladesh. It runs the biggest afforestation program in Bangladesh. It is also the biggest user of solar panels in Bangladesh. In fact it has a larger budget to protect the trees it sows than the Bangladeshi Government (relatively). As the largest taxpayer in Bangladesh, It relatively contributed more to the climate fund than many other countries.

There are geo-economics aspect of their environmental investment as well. They grow their products mostly in rural hilly areas with no electricity and a high possibility of landslides. Trees they sow prevent landslides and their solar panels bless the poorest of the poor with all important lights and ceiling fans.

My brother feels justified to be part of the company that is more carbon neutral than most electric car manufacturers. Should this really be the case?

Should we forget the billions of dollars these company spent lobbying for lower environmental protections? Do the children of Bangladesh deserve to die of lung cancer? 

This brings me to the case in point. "Greenwashing" Companies who use environmental friendliness/investment in environmental investments to gather public support for their otherwise controversial products.

While students of John Rawls and Ludwig Wittgenstein may disagree on the ethics of getting a Job in BATBD. We can all agree that companies such as shell hasnt turned into the darling of environmental protection scene with its billions of investment into sustainable tech startups.