discursive legitimation; critical discourse analysis; framing

The present study analyzes the main discursive legitimation strategies employed by three global oil companies on their official websites. The analysis reveals uniformity in the use of such strategies among the companies, with each adopting all four types of legitimation means as classified by van Leeuwen (2008): rationalization, moral evaluation, authorization and mythopoesis. Rationalization strategies include a rhetoric of necessity and a pragmatic business rhetoric of profitability. These are combined with reference to moral values of the companies? practices, namely other-orientation and helpfulness, environmental and social responsibility, and non-discrimination and fairness. All three companies legitimize their existence via the rhetoric of sustainable development, combining economic, ecological and social ethics discourses, while maintaining an anthropocentric view of nature.