Description
Who: Picturehouse, UK cinema chain with 26 cinemas
What: Cancelled Ineos sponsorship after pressure by environmental film producers.
When: April 2023
Picturehouse ended its sponsorship deal with Ineos after environmental film producers featured by Picturehouse protested against taking money from the fossil fuel industry. Both films, The Oil Machine and Finite: The Climate of Change, have been promoted by Picturehouse “Green Screen” for events around the UK.
The partnership was only announced a few months earlier, in November 2022, when Picturehouse introduced its 'new supporter' Ineos. Ineos was going to help support a quarterly film magazine and provide antibacterial hand sanitisers. Picturehouse was 'thrilled' to bring the 'masterminds' of Ineos on board and made no mention of the company's major interest in oil, gas, petrochemicals and plastics.
Large pollutor sponsoring sports and culture to buy legitimacy
Ineos runs five oil, chemical and power plants at Grangemouth and is by far the biggest climate polluter in Scotland emitting over a quarter of all industrial emissions in Scotland (2021). They sponsor a Formula One racing team, a Tour de France cycling team, a sailing team and New Zealand's rugby All Blacks. Ineos also owns OGC Nice football club in France and its billionare boss, Jim Ratcliffe, has been bidding to buy Manchester United.