Green credentials

Here’s a question; what do the coastlines of Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida have in common with BP’s green credentials? Answer, a massive oil slick could do all of them untold harm for a long time to come.

As the tide of crude leaking from a damaged well in the Gulf of Mexico threatens local wildlife and the livelihoods of fishing communities along the southern US littoral, the oil giant is fully engaged in a major damage limitation PR exercise to keep an increasingly angry US Government on side and to rescue its corporate positioning as a global enterprise that is, despite what it does, sensitive to the environment.

The crisis management strategy kicked in with the group chief executive, no less, fronting interviews across the US news networks as well as UK news outlets. Tony Hayward was at pains to point out that the rig, the people, the processes and the equipment were not BP’s but merely leased.

In the same breath – and wisely so given that the “it wasn’t me guv’nor” line of defence could backfire at some stage no matter how true – the oil company sought to go on the front foot by swiftly unveiling plans to tackle the leak and the resultant slick with an innovative metal funnel, the drilling of a new well and the deployment of thousands of feet of floating orange booms. At the same time, BP provided a commendable wealth of information, images and interviews.   

In the days ahead, one outcome of the disaster will be to throw the spotlight on the PR value of owning the green credentials that so many companies seek, the credentials which say “we are responsible, we care about our world”.   

It is a decade since BP unveiled its environmentally-friendly face with the logo that symbolised everything natural from a flower to the sun. The move was highly significant for an industry that had long been seen as the villain of the green peace.

And in those 10 years, unceasing public awareness and lobbying on the issues of climate change, global warming and just the impact of man on the earth, has meant government and businesses continue to position themselves as environmentally aware to show voters, shareholders, staff and customers that they are doing their bit for the planet.

Some, such as the Co-operative Group  have environmental awareness in their genes. The mutual retailer surveys the opinions of its 5.5 million members and has an environmental and social ethos that permeates throughout the business and is reflected in the output of its PR department.

But you don’t have to have green in your DNA. Green credentials can be acquired by anyone. It might be via a company’s waste recycling policy, an office’s movement-sensitive lighting system, a new building’s rain capture to provide water for the loos, a new home’s insulation features.

In PR terms, we’ve all recognised the benefit, rather than the burden, of having green credentials, be it financial, through tax relief on reduced carbon emissions, be it the opportunity to launch a new product for green conscious consumers, or be it the creation of a satisfied workforce that is engaged with its employer because the bosses care.

All this is a good thing and is great for providing PR opportunities. But when it goes wrong, when waste gets dumped not recycled, when rivers and seas get polluted, when wind farms get pilloried for spoiling the view, then the PR damage is acute.

We can look at BP’s current slick PR strategy – pun intended! – and maybe learn a few lessons. Be open and honest, be swift and proactive, provide a steady stream of information and updates on the action being taken and above all and, as obvious as it may sound, get the boss into a hi-vis jacket and hard hat with company logo and in front of the mike asap.      

BP has been here before. The full extent of the damage in PR terms will be felt for a long time to come and in many different ways. One thing we do know is that the oil giant faces at least three months of negative PR. How do we know that? Easy, it’s the time it says it will take to drill the new well.