EDMONTON - Three more companies, including American cosmetics giant Avon, have announced they will avoid using fuel derived from the oilsands to distribute their products.
"We've asked our transportation partners to take steps that will avoid high-impact, high-carbon fuels such as those from the tarsands," said Avon vice-president Tod Arbogast.
As well, Canadian trucking firm Concord Transportation has asked its fuel vendors what steps they are taking to avoid refineries that process oilsands bitumen.
"We attempted to identify sources for the fuel that we purchase, primarily in the U.S., and work to lessen or minimize purchasing fuel from vendors that were deriving their feedstock from the tarsands," said Concord vice-president Richard Brooks.
Brooks said that effort began after a request from a Concord's customer, Lush Cosmetics.
Lush, which has previously held anti-oilsands protests at its stores, has released a new corporate policy asking all of its suppliers to stop using oilsands-derived fuel.
A total of 10 companies have announced a wide range of similar moves to reduce the carbon footprint of moving their goods.
Drugstore chain Walgreen's, which has 7,500 stores across the United States, said in August it would buy fuel for its trucks only from refineries that don't use feedstock from the oilsands. Organic grocer Whole Foods has moved in that direction.
The Gap, Timberland and Levi Strauss have all asked their transportation contractors what they are doing to eliminate higher-carbon fuels.
As well, courier company Federal Express has promised it will consider the environmental and social impacts of the fuels it uses, although it hasn't specifically mentioned the oilsands.
The impact of those moves is unclear.
Avon ships most of its goods by parcel, said Arbogast. Walgreen's spokesman Michael Polzin said the company wasn't buying much oilsands-derived fuel to begin with.
But Aaron Sanger of ForestEthics, which is co-ordinating and helping implement the anti-oilsands campaign, said the statement is more important than the economic impact.
"They're calling into question the social licence of this product," he said. "They aren't saying they're 'green.' They're saying these types of fuels don't match their environmental values."
Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers spokeswoman Janet Annesley said she wished the companies had contacted the industry before making the move.
"We will for sure be getting in touch with Avon," she said. "We're surprised and disappointed that such a longstanding company that does a lot of business in Canada would choose to take this decision without even consulting with Canadian oil and gas companies."
Polls show that Canada is a preferred source of oil for most Americans, she said.
"Every barrel of oilsands crude that Avon chooses not to use means Avon is going to be using a barrel of crude from Nigeria or Venezuela or another importing nation."
Arbogast said the move away from oilsands crude is being accompanied by efforts to ensure its shippers use the most efficient routing and loading to minimize the company's overall fuel use.
Wednesday's announcement is part of an escalating war of words over the oilsands.
Environmental organizations have mounted international billboard campaigns criticizing the oilsands, while industry and the Alberta government have funded their own campaigns defending them.
The oilsands themselves have seen a parade of fact-finders, from famed film director and environmentalist James Cameron to a group of U.S. senators.
An Alberta business lobby group is already calling for a boycott of Avon products, in response to what it calls a "boycott" of oilsands oil.
"Turning your back on Canadian oil means more barrels of oil produced by the likes of Saudi Arabia and Nigeria," said Tim Shipton, president of the Alberta Enterprise Group. "A company like Avon, which has marketed itself as a force for gender equality around the world for decades, ought to know better."
