Energy company apologizes for sexually suggestive Greta Thunberg decal

“We are taking action to condemn this image and its publication and are committed to recovering and destroying the decals we distributed,” X-Site’s statement read. “Management accepts full responsibility and, effective immediately, has made organizational changes to reflect this.”

A call to Doug Sparrow, who was listed as X-Site’s general manager last week, went straight to voice mail and he did not immediately respond to a message seeking further clarification. X-Site’s 24-hour dispatch number was directed to Sparrow’s voice mail. An email to Sparrow was not immediately returned.

Michelle Narang of Rocky Mountain House said last week that a friend sent her a picture of the decal and told her they were being handed out at job sites.

She said the image was so jarring and hurtful that she cried.

Narang said she called Sparrow on Wednesday and he told her he was aware of the stickers being distributed and that he stood by them. Narang said Sparrow told her: “She is not a child. She is 17.”

Sparrow later denied responsibility in an interview with Calgary radio station CFFR.

“It’s not from X-Site or any employee. Someone has done this. That’s all I know,” he told the radio station.

X-Site’s statement does not make clear who made the decals, whose decision it was to hand them out and what the “organizational changes” entail.

It adds that “other parties” have been making more images with X-Site’s logo, but did not elaborate.

“These have nothing to do with our company, and we ask for everyone’s help in taking them and the original decal out of circulation and hope people will stop republishing these images.”

X-Site said it is discussing a code of conduct with its employees and that it will hold sessions on respect in the workplace with all staff.

“We have let our employees, our families and our customers down with this careless action. But just as we are committed to help reduce our industry’s environmental footprint, we are committed to learn from and correct our mistake,” it said.

“We will do better.”

The RCMP reviewed the decals, but determined that, while “distasteful,” they did “not meet the elements of child pornography.”

Thunberg has made headlines for her passionate pleas to world leaders to take tougher action on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and for inspiring large climate marches around the world.

“They are starting to get more and more desperate,” she said Saturday of her critics on Twitter. “This shows that we’re winning.”

Meantime, nearly 15,000 people have signed an online petition calling for X-Site executives to resign and for the company to issue an apology.

Fionnuala Braun of Saskatoon, who started the petition over the weekend, says the statement issued by the company on Monday doesn’t go far enough.

“Together, we can show that this disgusting and deplorable behaviour will not go unnoticed in Canada. We call on all executives involved in the making or distribution of the image to step down, and issue a public apology for their actions,” she said.

Braun also expressed disappointment with the RCMP’s response to the matter.

“While the RCMP has said they don’t consider this to be child pornography, I think most people can agree that distributing images of sexual assault, or sexual images of anyone under the age of 18 is wrong on many levels. This image is both of those abhorrent things.” she shared.

Statement from X-Site Energy Services posted to their website on March 2

(Lauren Krugel, The Canadian Press)

by Canadian Press

Energy company apologizes for sexually suggestive Greta Thunberg decal

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