British Petroleum BP organization

Introduction

British Petroleum Plc is a global oil and gas company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The company is the ranked as the fourth-largest company in the world considered by revenues and is graded as the third-largest energy company in oil and gas sector (British Petroleum, 2010, online). British Petroleum, also shortened as BP is one of the six oil and gas "super majors". The company is an active participant in all the aspects of oil and gas industry and is vertically-integrated. The main participation of the company includes refining, exploration and production, marketing, and distribution of petrochemicals, power generation and trading. It is also engaged in the main activities of renewing energy, including hydrogen, bio fuels, solar and wind power (British Petroleum, p6).

Major issues

Oil spills can encompass a severe impact on aquatic creatures like fish, shellfish, sea mammals, water birds, and aquatic plants. The instant hazard to aquatic creatures by an oil spill is that of corporeal suffocation, whereby the oil coats all exterior in a thick slick. This might ultimately bring about the fatality of creatures as a result of their lack of ability to normally nourish, reproduce, respire and progress. (Caldwell et al, 153) All creatures which get in touch with an oil slick surface are in danger, and these might include sea mammals and reptiles, marine birds, seashore aquatic life and any rigorous fishery or rearing operations in the direct vicinity such as aquaculture pens. Seabirds are chiefly vulnerable to oil spills, with many fatalities consequential from loss or harm of plumage (Zabarenko & Colvin, 54).

The derived risk posed to aquatic creatures is the chemical composition of the oil. The mainly lethal constituents of oil are extremely volatile and soluble, so animals are most in danger straight subsequent to the spill, with the danger declining in due course (Hernandez, 128). The ability of creatures to survive oil pollution differs. (Telegraph, 11) Such as, species that have mechanisms to pass up unfavorable situations, for example intertidal flora and fauna, may simply shut their shells until the immediate threat has gone, while the eggs, larval and juvenile phases of creatures might be very vulnerable to oil contamination. The threat to giant swimming animals for example whales and dolphins is generally small because of their high mobility; Still coastal sea mammals like seals, turtles and reptiles might be vulnerable because of their requirement to surface to respire and their necessity of reproduction on land (Richard et al, 88).

Leadership plan

The track record of corporate social responsibility in BP and Shell has been diverse. There are various environmental and safety incidents that the company has been involved in and has also obtained criticism for its political influence. Later, in the year 1997, the company became the first major oil company to openly admit the necessity to take major steps against climate change. In the same year, British Petroleum established a target on the organizational level in order to lessen the emissions of greenhouse gases (British Petroleum, ...