BP OIL REFINERY

BP Oil Refinery

BP Oil Refinery

The BP Sustainability Review begins with an introduction from John Browne. In this statement he talks about how the road to sustainability begins with the company's fundamental purpose as an organisation - “to provide better goods and services in the form of light, heat, power and mobility to increasing numbers of people and thereby deliver shareholder value on a long-term basis”. BP recognise that in order to achieve this aim it will need to be profitable, consistent and sustainable - in terms of its investments, attracting and maintaining the best employees and contributing towards a sustainable environment. The introduction talks specifically about BP's business strategy, the need to act responsibly and build trust through relationships based on mutual advantage. The introduction focuses in particular on the theme of responsibility, and how BP is seeking to embed responsible action as an integral part of its strategy. For BP this includes compliance with legal frameworks in the countries in which it operates. But the report also talks about how responsibility means going beyond compliance and doing more than is required by local law. It also talks about responsibility for issues that extent beyond BP's own operations - the most notable being the climate change impacts of greenhouse gas emissions and BP's role as a “powerful force for (education) development and awareness”.

The introduction specifically notes BP's ongoing commitment to other fuel sources/technologies, such as natural gas, and community investment. The latter commitment in particular is substantiated by a pledge to spend around $500 million on enterprise (local and regional economic development), education and energy. In his opening statement John Browne also talks about how BP's key objective for the future is “to be there for the long term and to be a positive influence”. And this sentiment is continued in each of the sections of the report. The report continues this discussion in a relatively open and transparent manner, talking about both positive and negative incidents - and acknowledging the future/forward trajectory of BP's ongoing learning and management of sustainability issues.

Business

The section on entitled “BP - our business” begins with further discussion of what responsibility means for BP. In doing so it expands on the introduction provided by John Browne. Of particular note is the discussion on global leadership, where BP elaborates on its role in solving global challenges directly relevant to its long term business strategy. It seeks to do this by working within its sphere of influence, where it does not control outcomes because responsibilities are seen as being shared. Instead BP seeks to work with governments, business partners and civil society, using its skills and resources in an effort to deliver better outcomes relating to enterprise, energy, education, environment and governance. This section of the report also introduces BP's code of conduct and values: (Edward Taledo 2008 Pp. 67.)

Code of conduct

BP's code of conduct was developed in 2004 and is set to be launched to every BP employee in ...