Sportswash win! Major polluter Toyota set to drop Olympic sponsorship

Toyota, the world’s biggest car maker and an opponent of climate action, reportedly is set to end its high profile sponsorship deal with the Olympics, marking a significant victory in the ongoing battle against sportswashing. The company, which sold over 11 million cars in 2023 and has opposed a faster shift to clean vehicles, had a deal estimated to be worth a huge $835 million allowing it to use the Olympics to promote itself. This decision comes after a sustained campaign by Badvertising to shed light on the negative environmental impact of the car company and their attempts to use sport to clean up their image.

In a report from 2023, Dangerous Driving, which looked at the car makers BMW and Toyota, we found that, behind Toyota’s green lip service, was an intention to pollute for as long as possible. By engaging in aggressive lobbying across the globe, the company has sought to slow down the phase out of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles whilst leveraging the sports we love with numerous sponsorship deals

We calculated that the fossil fuel powered vehicles sold by Toyota in 2021 alone would lead to lifetime emissions equivalent to 190 coal-fired power plants running for an entire year. 

Building on this research, we introduced TOYNOCA®, a hypothetical car manufacturer committed to addressing climate change head-on. This imagined company was designed to illustrate the kind of corporate responsibility needed for a sustainable future.

A different vision for a car company

As part of this campaign, an apology letter, brochure, and press release were created for the company. Olympic gold medalist Etienne Stott even collaborated with us to deliver an apology statement for the climate-reborn company. The statement acknowledged the company’s past polluting ways and outlined how it would contribute to a climate-positive future.

We should rightly celebrate the reported end of one of the worst sportswashing sponsorships in history. But the fight against sportswashing is far from over, even in relation to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Andrew Simms from Badvertising said:"Toyota slammed the brakes on cleaner air and climate action and put a polluter’s cloud around the Olympics - seeing an end to the deal is progress but for the Olympics to be green it needs to drop all polluting sponsors."