BP STORIES

Global: BP guilty of “corporate scapegoating”
UK multinational BP is facing a storm of criticism in the US after “scapegoating” workers for the Texas City refinery explosions that killed.
15 workers. [28 May 2005]

Could BP care less? Oil giants BP and Shell provide two shocking examples of how even record fines can be a drop in the ocean to profit-rich British companies. [20 May 2005]

USA: BP fined over S1.4m for safety violations  UK multinational BP has been hit by fines of $1.42m (£763,000) for safety violations on its Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska. [22 January 2005]

Clean and green or industry whitewash? Oil company BP has received more plaudits for its corporate responsibility - despite facing continuing criticism for its safety and environmental record over the last year. [20 March 2004]

Officially bad A series of management failures were responsible for life-threatening accidents at BP's Grangemouth complex, an official report has found. [22 August 2003]

Slipping standards Worldwide Fund for Nature's UK arm (WWF-UK) is selling all its BP shares in protest at its "slipping ethical standards". [5 February 2003]

Unethical BP Investment firm drops BP from its ethical fund after finding safety and environmental problems.
[13 January 2003]

Another worker dies One man was killed and two others injured while working on a high-pressure pipe at BP Exploration Alaska's North Slope. [3 January 2003]

Award shame BP is named as Britain's top safety offender - and is given a safety award.
[2 December 2002]

Underhand BP How BP helped undermine a proposed US chemical safety law. [13 April 2002]

Underfire BP Union reps at a Belgian chemical plant were fired by BP after whistleblowing.
[ 27 October 2001]

To Bill Callaghan, Chair, Health and Safety Commission

Dear Bill

HSE trumpets award for Britain's top safety offender

Interesting that you should choose to press release this award to BP Grangemouth.

BP Grangemouth was recipient of the country's highest workplace safety penalty, according to the figures you released last month.

Your support for BP doesn't sit too well alongside the policy of naming and shaming health and safety criminals, and makes your statements on corporate social responsibility seem a little, well, fainthearted. I'm sure the company is grateful for this opportunity to put a safe gloss on its dirty record.

Perhaps you should ask the companies for whom you do this free PR to give a public apology via an HSE press release when they are done for grievious health and safety offences?

Yours, aghast,

Rory O'Neill

Background notes
Stress initiative wins European award for British company. HSE 2 December 2002 news release. HSE nominated BP Grangemouth, the recipient this year of a record fine for safety offences, for the award (release in full below) • On the HSE site

Average health and safety fines up by over a third - but penalties still need to be tougher, warns HSC Chair.
HSE 18 November 2002 press release. The press release does not mention BP Grangemouth received the top health and safety penalty last year.

BP fined £1m for safety breaches. TUC Risks 26 January 2002 report on the BP fine.

HSE 18 January 2002 statement on the BP £1m fine.

E219:02
2 December 2002
STRESS INITIATIVE WINS EUROPEAN AWARD FOR BRITISH COMPANY

BP Grangemouth is one of twenty companies from across Europe who received an award in recognition of outstanding and innovative contributions to the prevention of psychosocial risks, especially work-related stress.

The awards, which were made by the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, aim to acknowledge and motivate good practice activities and stimulate the sharing of practical solutions to prevent work-related stress.

BP Grangemouth submitted a low cost project using risk management to prevent potential stress arising from a plant commissioning project.

Accepting the award at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao, Project Manager David Wilson said: "Taking action to control stress delivers better technology programmes. The team at Grangemouth is confident to push hard knowing they will recognise stress and that everyone involved will welcome talking about ways to resolve it. I'm sure our experience can help a wide range of teams facing similar challenges."

Another British entry to receive recognition was Debenhams Retail plc which featured in the commended section for its work in preventing work-related violence in the retail sector.

Hans-Horst Konkolewsky, the Director of the Agency, said: "Work-related stress affects more than 40 million workers and is costing the EU an estimated 20 billion euro in absenteeism and related health costs every year - psychosocial risks hurt society and individuals. The good news is that psychosocial problems can be prevented, as the real business cases that will receive a European award clearly document. We hope that their example will inspire other private and public organisations, managers and workers to follow up with similar successful prevention efforts."

The award scheme forms part of European Week for Safety and Health at Work, which takes place every October and involves thousands of companies and organisations across Europe.

Promoted by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) in the UK, this year's event saw a record breaking demand for action packs with more than 185,000 being despatched. The HSE is currently evaluating efforts made during the Week and will be announcing details of award winners early in 2003.

Notes to Editors:
1. For more information about the BP project, contact David Wilson, BP Grangemouth, tel: +44 (0) 1324 476863.
2. Further information on the award event and European Week 2002 can be found at www.hse.gov.uk/campaigns and http://osha.eu.int/ew2002/

Public Enquiries: Call HSE's InfoLine, tel: 08701 545500, or write to: HSE Information Services, Caerphilly Business Park, Caerphilly CF83 3GG.

Press Enquiries: Journalists only: Colette Manning 0151 951 3450, out of hours 020 7928 8382. HSE information and press releases can be accessed on the Internet : http://www.hse.gov.uk

OTHER BP STORIES

Global: BP guilty of “corporate scapegoating”
UK multinational BP is facing a storm of criticism in the US after “scapegoating” workers for the Texas City refinery explosions that killed 15 workers and injured more than 170 in March, with a US union saying some of the blame can be traced back to the company’s London headquarters.
Risks 208, 28 May 2005

USA: BP fined over S1.4m for safety violations
UK multinational BP has been hit by fines of $1.42m (£763,000) for safety violations on its Prudhoe Bay oilfield in Alaska. In January 2002, BP has been fined a then record £1 million for safety breaches at its Grangemouth plant in the UK.
Risks 191, 22 January 2005

Britain
Clean and green or industry whitewash?
Oil company BP has received more plaudits for its corporate responsibility - despite facing continuing criticism for its safety and environmental record over the last year.
Risks 148, 20 March 2004

Worldwide Fund for Nature sells BP shares

Worldwide Fund for Nature's UK arm (WWF-UK) is selling all of its BP shares in protest at the petrochemical giant's "slipping ethical standards".

The charity has instructed fund managers to sell off its entire 51,000 shareholding. It is a significant blow to BP, which often cites its five-year relationship with WWF-UK as an example of its environmental responsibility.

"We've decided to get rid of our shares in BP in line with our constant review of our investments," said Anita Neville, head of advocacy at WWF-UK. "We've been seeing increasing evidence from BP that it no longer deserves the best of sector title."

WWF-UK is particularly dismayed by BP's stance on the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, and wants the company to improve safety standards following a series of oil well blasts that have seriously injured several workers.
The Third Sector, 5 February 2003

BP dropped by ethical Henderson Pirkko Juntunen [Financial News, 13 Jan 2003]

BP has been suspended by Henderson Global Investor’s ethical funds because of environmental, health and safety issues in its Alaskan operations.
   The exclusion is a blow to the UK oil and gas group which has tried to improve its image and that of the industry. Henderson, part of Australia’s AMP group, said last week that its socially responsible investment (SRI) team had recently completed a review of BP’s safety and environmental performance in Alaska. “It was prompted by a combination of regulatory incidents and whistle blowing by concerned employees, which was given added urgency by an explosion at one of its wells in August,” said a spokeswoman.

“While BP is clearly putting in place policies at the corporate level to raise its standards, its performance in Alaska prompted sufficient concern that we have suspended the company from our list of approved stocks for the retail SRI funds managed by Henderson. We continue to engage with the company, both about the specifics of Alaska and about more strategic issues of safety and labour relations.”

The tough stance against BP follows an accident last August when an explosion injured a worker. In December another accident killed a contract worker.

BP confirmed that it had received a letter from Henderson which said that the firm suspended its holdings in BP in its SRI funds.

A BP spokesman said: “We are disappointed and are seeking to meet with the Henderson SRI managers to better understand their concerns and questions. This is the only action of this kind we have seen from any SRI funds.”

An SRI consultant said Henderson had taken a bold step ahead of its competition. He said: “Fund managers in the UK tend to work with engagement rather than exclusion, but BP will have to work hard not to be excluded from European SRI portfolios, which sometimes are more strict.”

BP faces mounting criticism over its Alaskan operations. Recently a US judge forced BP to provide unrestricted access to state regulators to further comply with federal, state and local environmental and health and safety laws.

Another worker dies in BP Alaska accident
One man was killed and two others were injured while working on a high-pressure pipe at BP Exploration Alaska's North Slope, a BP Exploration (Alaska) Inc. spokesperson said. Rodney Rost of Soldotna was killed when he was struck by a plug that blew out of the 28-inch pipe on which he was working.
Rigzone, 3 January 2003

Underhand BP
In April 2002, North American Union UNITE criticised BP and other oil companies, all donors to the Bush presidential campaign, for killing a modest workplace chemical safety rule. Unions had wanted better controls on a group of reactive chemicals that between 1992 and 1997 had caused the deaths of 66 workers.
Risks 49, 13 April 2002

Under fire BP
In Belgium, workers who asked for safety improvements after an October 2001 fire at BP's Chembel chemical plant in Feluy were dismissed. The fired workers included an FGTB union representative on the plant's health and safety committee.
Risks 38, 27 October 2001