BP: Beyond Propaganda

Since rebranding itself in 2000 as ‘Beyond Petroleum’, BP has made numerous declarations of its commitment to environmentally friendly policy and to investment in alternative energy sources. Complete with a new logo and an aggressive marketing campaign, the world’s fourth largest company has sought out to be a leader in the green movement and to stay ahead of the evolving 21st century energy market.

So what has BP done for the environment and the energy industry in the last ten years? Besides causing the worst oil spill in U.S. history and investing a small fraction of their portfolio in alternative energy, BP has only given us reason after reason to doubt the business motives behind the energy supermajors. The major oil companies have already been under public scrutiny for high gas prices and a lack of environmental consciousness while continually reporting record profits. But unlike BP, the other supermajors haven’t claimed to be innovators in the move for sustainability. In fact, Exxon could care less. After reporting a $10 billion third quarter profit in 2005, company spokesperson Dave Gardner said, “We’re an oil and gas company. We’d rather re-invest in what we know.” BP’s deception led to them being awarded the “Emerald Paintbrush” in 2008 from Greenpeace, an independent environmental group in the UK, for the worst greenwash of the year. The term greenwash refers to the use of green marketing in order to promote a misleading perception that a company’s policies or products are environmentally friendly, when in fact they are not.

What BP needs to realize is the effects of its actions are felt throughout the entire industry, an industry that is currently in danger of being mauled with regulation. The Deepwater Horizon spill has been in the public eye for months, but the spill is only one part of BP’s atrocious environmental record. In the last five years alone, BP has been involved in major incidents such as the spilling of over 264,000 gallons of oil into Alaska’s North Slope, the Texas Refinery explosion which left fifteen people dead, and a helicopter crash in the North Sea which killed sixteen. Politically, BP has been equally as bad.  The company was convicted in 2007 and 2008 for manipulating propane and oil prices, and settled a lawsuit in 2006 in which Columbian farmers sued BP for allegedly benefiting from a terror regime that protected a company pipeline.

Deepwater Horizon explosion, April 20th, 2010

The time has come for the energy behemoth to own up to its past mistakes, including the Deepwater Horizon spill which BP publicly denied full responsibility for this morning. The company has the opportunity to be a catalyst for change in the industry and to spark investment for the energy of tomorrow. We can only hope that BP is finally ready to set an example. 

Sources: The Daily Green, Greenpeace, S&P Industry Profile, BP