Reconciling energy and the environment: emerging webgenres in the oil industry Online publication date: Wed, 08-Feb-2017
by Fanny Domenec
Progress in Industrial Ecology, An International Journal (PIE), Vol. 10, No. 2/3, 2016
Abstract: This paper aims to characterise emerging webgenres used by oil multinationals to defend their activities in the face of environmental controversy. Within the framework of English for specific purposes (ESP), the analysis focuses on the advocacy webpages, blogs and online games created by ExxonMobil, Chevron, Conoco Phillips, BP, Shell, Total and Gazprom. A modular analysis was conducted to examine the structural, lexical and rhetorical features of each genre and identify common communicative purposes. Results show that these communication tools are founded on strategies of polyphony and conversationalisation. Controversial products or activities are also reframed as eco-friendly, promoting a novel, positive view of energy: in addition to presenting their activities as harmless to the environment, oil companies now describe them as the only solution to preserve natural resources. Further research could investigate other emerging webgenres used in controversial sectors to promote the companies' environmental messages.
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