Walt Disney is going green. Fantasy world? You might think so, what with headlines declaring "Disney no Dumbo when it comes to the environment" and sober-minded business journalists reporting their ambitions to be "as green as Jiminy Cricket".

Anyhow, the company with an unerring ability to persuade people to cross oceans to visit its theme park is now taking the well-worn path to corporate environmentalism. Its journey is being charted by Conservation International, one of the world's largest and most business-friendly environmental organisations.

Last week, Disney put out a new corporate sustainability report declaring its intention to reduce water use, cut waste, protect nature, head for zero-carbon emissions at its offices and parks and try to buy green electricity in future.

Some eye-catching features include the train at Disneyland in California, which now runs on biodiesel made with used cooking oil from the resort's restaurants.

In case anyone thought this do-goodery would damage the bottom line, CEO Robert Iger promised that the wider purpose was to "make our brands and products more attractive, strengthen our bonds with consumers, make the company a more desirable place to work, and build goodwill in the communities we operate. All of this contributes to shareholder value."

I am not cynical about such motives. Climate change will only be solved when corporations like Disney see that cutting emissions is good for the bottom line. My problem is that Disney's business model is unchanged. It remains tied to global promotion of trips to its resorts – just about the most environmentally damaging leisure activity you can imagine.

Disney's announcement says action on climate change is "urgent" and requires "fundamental changes in the way society, including businesses, use natural resources, and Disney is no exception." Disney are greening some of their activities, but they are not greening their business model. This is greenwash.

Let me admit that I have never felt the slightest desire to cross the Atlantic to go and see Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck or any of Walt Disney's colourful characters. (I was always a Popeye man myself.)

But many people have been persuaded that they are. Of the 23 million people who visit Disney's Florida parks, around four million are non-Americans, mostly from Europe. Around 1.2 million Brits alone visit Florida on holiday each year, the great majority go to Disney.

According to the carbon offsetting company Climate Care, the emissions for one person flying from London to Orlando are 1.96 tonnes of carbon dioxide.

Multiply that by a million and we are at more or less 2m tonnes of CO2 for British visitors and up to 8m tonnes for Europeans. So that's about the same as the annual emissions of the 83 million people of Ethiopia – just to get Europeans to a Disney dream holiday.

Many Americans also fly to Disney. Sadly, Disney does not calculate the emissions from people visiting its operations, so this is a guess. But I'd say that in all it could reach 15m tonnes.

Disney's other large parks must have big carbon footprints, too. Ten of the world's top 25 theme parks bear the Disney name, including all of the top eight, with 104 million visitors a year, according to the Parkworld web site.

Disneyland in California attracts 15 million visitors a year, and its two theme parks in Tokyo a combined total of 26 million. Paris Disneyland takes more than 12 million, including two million Brits, probably half of whom fly. A typical flight from the UK (say, Birmingham) to Paris emits 0.13 tonnes of CO2. A lot better than crossing the Atlantic, but still 130,000 tonnes for a million people.

You might say this is nothing to do with Disney. It cannot be held responsible for whether and how people visit its hugely popular resorts. But the trouble is that Disney more or less invented the idea of marketing theme parks as international attractions – seducing kids and parents alike into the frankly nonsensical notion that you might travel halfway round the world to shake hands with Mickey Mouse and ride a rollercoaster or two.

As a symbol of unsustainability, it takes some beating.

• How many more green scams, cons and generous slices of wishful thinking are out there? Please email your examples of greenwash to greenwash@theguardian.com or add your comments below