Energy companies have spent US$5.6 billion on cleaning images through ‘sportswashing’

Oil and gas giants have spent US$5.6 billion on sports sponsorship through some 205 accords, said a study by research group New Weather Institute released on Wednesday that describes the outlays as “sportswashing”.

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The report, Dirty Money - How Fossil Fuel Sponsors are Polluting Sport, says football, motor sports, rugby and golf are the sports most sponsored by energy companies.

The biggest spenders in the industry include Aramco (US$1.3 billion), which among other things backs the women’s golf team series that takes it name, Ineos (US$777 million), which was founded by Manchester United chief Jim Ratcliffe and pumps money into cycling and the America’s Cup, Shell (US$470 million) and TotalEnergies (US$340 million).

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Middle East petrol states are growing their presence in the sports world, even as the summer of 2024 was globally the hottest ever, the report says.

The study identified 205 still active sports agreements signed by companies linked to fossil fuels, of which only 41 revealed financial details.

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