Reasons for BP's Sustainability Programs

This article discusses the reasons behind BP's decision to implement sustainability programs, including the company's financial crisis, merger with Amoco, and focus on environmental and social issues. It also highlights BP's investments in renewable energy and their impact on society. The article emphasizes the importance of sustainability in the oil industry and BP's commitment to being a responsible corporate leader.

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British Petroleum

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The reasons for BP taking the sustainability programs could be many and those have been
outlined below and ye the major reason for any company to opt for the sustainability of the
programs is the future sustainability in terms of the competition, market share and overall
existence. The existence matters and for the investors and the shareholders who are involved will
consider the fact of the health, safety, and other associated factors before investing in it. This is
also due to the brand value and the goodwill of the firm (Khan, 2016).
At present, the major reasons for BP to take the initiative of the sustainability programs is the
crisis which has been faced by the company in the year 1990. At this era, the British Petroleum
faced a situation of the huge debts and the sharp fall in the prices which extended more when the
pressure increased from the external agencies that the company shall cease to pollute the
environment. Thereafter when the company was merged with Amoco Oil Corporation, the
policies followed by the Amoco were crystal clear with respect to the protection of the
environment and this in return resulted in the huge inspiration for the company and hence the
Sustainable development was the only answer (Metaxas and Tsavdaridou, 2017).
According to Browne who became the CEO of the company in the year, 1995 decides that the
health safety and environmental performance would be of core importance for the success in the
countries in which they operate. Beyond that he concentrated on the environmental and the social
issues concerning the oil industry. This, therefore, made a path for the company to take proactive
initiatives towards corporate social responsibility. Since then the company also took over
Solarex and became the third largest company after the Royal Dutch Shell Plc. Due to the
environmental initiatives taken by Amoco BP the company was ranked number one in Worlds
Most Respected Companies Survey (Opoku‐Dakwa, Chen and Rupp, 2018).

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Further, in the year 1996, the British Petroleum quit the Global Climate Coalition which was
formed by a group of US-based companies and the tables turned when the Intergovernmental
panel of the climate change recommended there were high GHG emissions due to harmful
activities (Sammarco, et al 2016). Since the GCC was not in favor of reducing it, thereafter BP
quit and became the first company to reduce the hydrocarbon emission in the air by 15% in the
year 1998 in comparison to 1997. The company also started the program of the Emission
Trading System to reduce emissions. In order to secure the first position the company rigorously
followed the path of reduction in the carbon (Vempatapu and Kanaujia, 2017).
The next step of the BP towards sustainability was to invest a huge amount of funds in
developing the renewable sources of energy which is also known as the green energy. The
company ventured into natural gas, hydrogen, and solar energy as well. The company started to
provide cleaner fuels at cheap prices. Also, the replacement of the coal and oil with natural gas
resulted in the emission of the lower carbon. The price set by the BP was same as that of the
octane fuel and this reflects that the company is not only fighting for the clean energy but also
increases the chances of increase in the market share as the motive of the company is to provide
the green energy (Welte, 2018).
All these steps and furthermore as taken in the case study was mainly to help the people. The
investments made by the BP in the solar and wind energy products gained success when the
electricity reached to the household. Bringing the electricity to the remote villages using solar
energy is like serving society is the best possible manner with the resources that have been
utilized to make one. With the help of solar energy, BP was able to bring the electricity in cities
like California and Peru (Whitfield, 2016).

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Not only this was one of the reasons why the company was working hard enough, one such
attraction was the Accountability rating of the Fortune Global of the 100 Companies. British
Petroleum topped with the survey and scored 78 out of 100. Accountability rating is the mixture
of many parameters including the issues relating to the internal as well as the external relations.
The concern issues were public reporting, assurance, stakeholder engagement, governance, and
strategic intent and performance. Therefore the net profit and the share price are not only the key
factors in deciding the positions. The environmental plays a huge role in dealing with the
challenges emerging against the competitors (Yemen, 2017).
All of this leads to less criticism from the Non-Governmental Organizations like Green Peace.
British Petroleum was never forced to adopt such steps and that's what relates to the most
aspiring and inspiring factor. The entire oil industry is blessed to have such company which acts
as the driving force in relation to the contributions of the environment as well as the
communities. The firm is committed towards its work in a dedicated and firm manner and the
business aims to anchor with the changing patterns of demand rather than in the quest of supply.
To become a leading and responsible corporate leader it is essential to contribute to the field of
sustainability and inspire other companies in the same industry to perform in a better manner
(Welte, 2018).
The serving and the safety is what matters and that the way the British Petroleum wants them to
be recognized for. Hence from the entire case study, it can be concluded there was no pressure as
such to perform in a particular manner as the BP never took it as a competition and rather than as
a responsibility on account of serving the society people and nature itself (Vempatapu and
Kanaujia, 2017).

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References
Khan, A., 2016. Communication strategies used by'British Petroleum (BP)to deal with
legitimacy before and after the Deepwater Horizon Accident.
Metaxas, T. and Tsavdaridou, M., 2017. Environmental Policy and CSR in Petroleum Refining
Companies in Greece: Content and Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Analysis. Journal of
Environmental Assessment Policy and Management, 19(03), p.1750012.
Opoku‐Dakwa, A., Chen, C.C. and Rupp, D.E., 2018. CSR initiative characteristics and
employee engagement: An impact‐based perspective. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 39(5),
pp.580-593.
Sammarco, P.W., Kolian, S.R., Warby, R.A., Bouldin, J.L., Subra, W.A. and Porter, S.A., 2016.
Concentrations in human blood of petroleum hydrocarbons associated with the BP/Deepwater
Horizon oil spill, Gulf of Mexico. Archives of toxicology, 90(4), pp.829-837.
Vempatapu, B.P., and Kanaujia, P.K., 2017. Monitoring petroleum fuel adulteration: A review of
analytical methods. Trac Trends in Analytical Chemistry, 92, pp.1-11.
Welte, D., 2018. Advances in petroleum geochemistry (Vol. 1). Elsevier.
Whitfield, S., 2016. Partnership Key to ADNOC’s Technology Qualification Initiatives. Journal
of Petroleum Technology, 68(09), pp.46-48.
Yemen, G., Lenox, M., Harris, J.D., Lenox, M., Harris, J.D. and Yemen, G., 2017. BP: Beyond
Petroleum. Darden Business Publishing Cases, pp.1-16.