BP - Essential Elements for Repairing Reputation, Brand and CSR

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Introduction

When examining the depth of damage to the BP name and brand as a result of the Deepwater Horizon incident in the Gulf of Mexico on April 2010, it is perhaps important to first look at the company’s history. According to United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), BP was the most polluting company in the US for 1991.[1] According to Natalya Sverjensky, author of ‘Beyond petroleum: Why the CSR community collaborated in creating the BP oil disaster’, BP’s “lack of attention to even the most basic forms of risk management and regulatory compliance continued throughout that decade and into the next.”[2] While this may surprise many who, before the Deepwater Horizon disaster affectionately knew BP by its brand name of ‘beyond petroleum’, it is clear that BP has a long and tainted history as a serious law and standard violator. As of June 2010, “BP has had 760 such OSHA fines for "egregious, willful" safety violations.” In contrast, fellow energy company Exxon Mobil has had just one fine.[3] Can a company with such a record ever recover from such a disaster as the one felt in the Gulf back in 2010?

Essential Elements for Repairing Reputation, Brand and CSR

Madhayi Tumkur, author of ‘Is BP’s ‘Beyond Petroleum’ image beyond repair?’, claims that all of the ‘essential’ elements of repairing a company’s image have been taken already. According to Mr. Tumkur, BP “has followed what every crisis communications rulebook would prescribe in such circumstances: taken full responsibility to the disaster, showed concern, apologized publicly and set out steps to repair the damage.”[4] Mr. Tumkur notes that despite all these efforts, BP has still failed to repair its reputation. Martin Roll, a brand and business strategist insists that “the BP brand must step up actively on the global scene, and take control of the crisis at a larger scale than any company has previously done.”[5]

Chances of Success

Some have argued that BP will never recover from this and previous incidents, others have contended that the public will forget in the near future and business will continue as usual. As tends to be the case, the real chances of success for BP to regain some if not all of its reputation may well rest on its commitment and depth of change. Simon Mainwaring, author of ‘Top ten reasons why BP’s advertising is a disaster’, offers a possible solution for success. According to Mr. Mainwaring, not only does BP need to “institute the preventative, preparedness and response systems that would ensure a tragedy of this scale never happens again, But if BP truly wants to repair its reputation it must do some comparable in scale to the crisis it created. Something so captivating that it converts the communities of critics.”[6] His suggestion, that BP “announce to the world that you will become the caretaker for the ocean and marine life in each of the regions in which you operate.”[7] While perhaps ideal in scope, Mr. Mainwaring makes a very good point. If BP does not take drastic action to rewrite its reputation, it may never again enjoy the brand and CSR recognition it had before April 2010.

Conclusion

Eleanor Bloxham, writing for CNN Money stated that the opening letter from BP CEO Tony Hayward to the BP Code of Conduct reads: "If you are unsure of what to do in particular circumstances or concerned that the code is being broken, you have a responsibility to speak up. The code explains the mechanisms to do this . . . and the protections to ensure that retaliation against those who do speak up will not be tolerated."[8] Cengage Learning has put forth that “It is now clear that BP’s code of conduct was not equipped to prevent the worst environmental disaster along the Gulf Coast. Regardless of the degree of comprehensiveness, ethical codes should always reflect upper management’s desire for compliance with values, rules, and policies.”[9] The report details how BP will try to work within existing codes of conduct set up by BP but that they should be communicated more effectively and frequently reinforced throughout the entire organization.[10]

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[1] http://www.ethicalcorporation.com/content.asp?ContentID=7003[2] Ibid.[3] Ibid.[4] http://www.futurebrand.com/news/in-the-news/is-bps-beyond-petroleum-image-beyond-repair/[5] http://www.futurebrand.com/news/in-the-news/is-bps-beyond-petroleum-image-beyond-repair/[6] http://simonmainwaring.com/future/top-ten-reasons-why-bps-advertising-is-a-disaster/[7] Ibid.[8]http://money.cnn.com/2010/06/22/news/companies/bp_horizon_macondo_whistleblower.fortune/index.htm[9] https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&q=cache:WhHCO4Bpv8IJ:cengagesites.com/academic/assets/sites/4004/BP_1439042233_250174_WM.pdf+BP+efforts+to+Repair+Reputation+codes+of+conduct&hl=en&gl=us&pid=bl&srcid=ADGEESg6BeJp-NsmmZWbHicyzbLIz4brhsnfpL2vkzhuzhneWW9vJK8Y8SI2xhl0hWPlUYCdIJJUDV941hjQ2VaOvC4fhp4tWGIetJo9e6uOlth_35-b9Fm6k1az-4JldRXaQCDMosFK&sig=AHIEtbREeg67mrXukXl8_rhGrYefNXxLNw[10] Ibid.