ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom dedicated to investigating abuses of power, provides an informative newsletter called Dispatches that highlights various wrongdoings across the country. This observational piece delves into the claims and actions of NW Natural, Oregon’s largest natural gas provider, regarding their renewable natural gas campaign.
Reporting Highlights:
- Soothing Message: NW Natural’s campaign, “Less We Can,” promoted renewable natural gas with the tagline: “Change for the better. Without changing a thing.”
- Failure to Deliver: Seven years later, the company has not significantly progressed in achieving its climate goals with the alternative fuel.
- Core Business Preserved: NW Natural’s strategies have ensured minimal repercussions while maintaining robust fossil natural gas sales.
Seven years ago, NW Natural sought to inspire confidence among legislators and Oregon residents in a new, abundant source of green energy purposed to replace fossil natural gas through renewable means. Renewable natural gas, which is formed from decomposing organic waste at landfills or dairy farms, was presented as a viable environmental alternative by the company.
In an effort to promote this new source, NW Natural deployed lobbyists to advocate for renewable natural gas at the state capital and collaborated on a new law supporting its development. The company also worked alongside the Oregon Department of Energy to assess the potential statewide resources and invested over $1 million in customer-targeted advertisements, encapsulating their environmental commitment with the slogan "Less We Can."
This approach set a precedent for other companies and helped mitigate the movement by climate activists to reduce household gas use in favor of electrification. However, seven years into their campaign, NW Natural has not matched their green energy promises. The company boasts more retail gas customers than ever but provides negligible renewable natural gas, continuing to sell fossil natural gas at previous levels. It also actively engages in legal and civic battles to maintain gas distribution.
Documents obtained by ProPublica and an analysis of regulatory filings reveal that NW Natural’s methods focused more on preserving its fossil fuel business than achieving actual progress in renewable energy adoption. Former state Rep. Phil Barnhart criticized the company’s narrative, stating, “The story they’re telling us is simply not possible.”
NW Natural maintains that its renewable goals are feasible but cites obstacles in policy support and regulatory challenges as the hindrances to their achievements. According to spokesperson David Roy, opposition from specific climate advocates has complicated their efforts to reduce system emissions.
Operating in a state where climate change action is strongly advocated by residents and leaders, NW Natural’s situation is especially challenging as it does not supply electricity. As homes switch from gas to electric, the company risks losing customers.
Similar to strategies by other companies facing public pressure, NW Natural has loudly embraced environmental goals alongside promoting complex, often speculative solutions to essentially continue business as usual. Hence, even as the company lags in achieving its renewable energy goals amidst rising global temperatures, it faces minimal consequences.
An early advertisement for the "Less We Can" campaign gave Oregonians hope with minimal personal sacrifice, depicting renewable natural gas as the solution to bettering the environment effortlessly.
The real picture of NW Natural’s fight against gas phase-out surfaced through more than 100 insider documents from the Northwest Gas Association, spanning four years from 2017. These documents captured the industry’s realization that it had become a target, as fossil natural gas, once seen as a bridge to a low-carbon future, began facing criticism for its greenhouse gas emissions.
NW Natural and its industry peers settled on promoting natural gas as compatible with a low-carbon economy, emphasizing renewable natural gas among other emerging concepts. This messaging strategy focused on appealing to emotional values rather than just factual assertions.
Utilizing insights from psychological research, NW Natural promoted the "Less We Can" campaign, road-tested through multiple focus groups and surveys to ensure positive consumer response. The campaign was launched in fall 2017, featuring extensive marketing efforts.
Despite the campaign’s promises, no public utility in the U.S. regularly offered renewable natural gas to homes at that time, and the market was mostly limited to clean fuel programs for vehicle fleets. Nevertheless, NW Natural backed state legislation that suggested widespread potential usage of this alternative fuel.
The subsequent inventory conducted by the Oregon Department of Energy quantified Oregon’s renewable natural gas potential, which NW Natural leveraged to advocate for favorable policies. However, the company often presented the most optimistic figures without addressing practical constraints, such as technology limitations or demand from other sectors, leading to an overstated potential impact of renewable natural gas.
While the company used the state’s optimistic projections to promote a second legislative bill allowing it to invest substantially in renewable natural gas, the true deployable resources were significantly lesser than represented. Still, NW Natural’s efforts succeeded in making the bill law in 2019, with continued support for such initiatives from the state government.
However, recent developments paint a mixed picture. Although NW Natural received recognition such as ranking among the best gas utilities in the West and ethical companies globally, its renewable gas project procurement has faced delays and is unlikely to meet the stated goal of 5% renewable gas by 2024. The company cited regulatory uncertainties and had reduced its renewable gas acquisitions.
Thus, instead of hitting the 5% renewable gas supply target, NW Natural reports that it actually achieves less than 1%, revealing a significant shortfall from the campaign’s aspirations.
