Environmentalists criticize the All Blacks’ collaboration with a petrochemical company

Issued on: 07/28/2021 – 7:44 am

Wellington (AFP)

New Zealand rugby on Wednesday confirmed a deal for petrochemical giant Ineos to sponsor the All Blacks in an agreement slammed by environmental watchdog Greenpeace.

Ineos has signed a six-year contract that will put its logo on the pants of the 15- and 7-man All Blacks teams, as well as the Maori All Blacks and New Zealand U20 teams.

The compound, reported in local media to be worth NZ $ 8.0 million (US $ 5.6 million), brings the All Blacks together with the Mercedes F1 team, Grenadiers cycling team and team UK sailing in the high-performance Ineos sports stable for the football clubs Nice and Lausanne-Sport.

However, Greenpeace activist Juressa Lee said it was “disappointing” to see New Zealand rugby sign a sponsorship deal with the oil and gas conglomerate.

“Many of our rugby players are of Maori and Pacific descent and come from communities that are on the forefront of sea level rise and extreme storms and should not be expected to wear the brand of a polluter like Ineos,” she said.

“We also want our people to live their dreams when they wear the black jersey, but now they’re going to wear the Ineos brand and Ineos is one of the worst oil and plastic polluters in the world.”

Announcing the deal, New Zealand rugby boss Mark Robinson said, “We are committed to helping rugby evolve over the next six years with Ineos Sport and look forward to working with some of the best sports teams in the world.

“Ineos will bring an innovative approach and commitment to partnering with our teams in Black, qualities we see in all aspects of their business, especially sustainability with their commitment to a carbon-free future in line with the Paris Agreement.”

The 2015 Paris Climate Agreement aims to limit the rise in temperature to “well below” 2.0 degrees Celsius above the pre-industrial level and to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius.

All Black’s Captain Sam Whitelock said he welcomed joining the Ineos high-performance sports group.

“The All Blacks look forward to being part of this performance partnership and also to learn from some of their incredible athletic partnerships,” he said.

© 2021 AFP