Oil, because of its crucial importance in modern life, evokes varied imageries-energy, money and greed. Companies like BP understood in the late 1990s that the conventional exploitative image of the oil companies may hinder its progress in remote areas. Actively involved in creating a social responsibility agenda, BP's efforts have set the standards in the oil and gas industry. Many critics have agreed that the efforts have been pioneering and have a feel-good aura around them. Are the efforts cosmetic? Can they do more? Some groups continue to explore answers to these tough questions.

Tucked away in a corner, a brief news report in November 2005 made an interesting reading. It was concerning the big oil and gas company based in the US. The Senate was concerned about the rising oil prices and summoned the CEOs of the nation's three big oil companies to explain what they intended to do with the record profits earned. When pro business governments ask businesses to explain what they intend to do with profit, things become interesting, particularly if the product is oil. As global prices increase, oil companies are on a roll. Or are they? Acutely aware of the glare of the media limelight oil companies are eager to tell the world that they also think about the society. Soaring oil prices have given good results to almost all the oil and gas companies. Hurricane Katrina played havoc with the oil companies. Many of the installations stopped production for days together. There was bad news on another front, too. Environmentalists were quick to point out that global warming may be one of the reasons why hurricanes are increasing in frequency. That means there will be more voices damning the companies producing fossil fuels and more eyes watching every move they make. This is a bad omen for the oil majors. As if it is not enough, politicians have started talking seriously about the Kyoto protocol. Although the US refused to sign it, following international protests it has decided to contribute on its own to the reduction of greenhouse gases. Oil companies like British Petroleum and Shell have faced flak from government, multilateral bodies and NGOs. Complaints are varied: environmental mismanagement and doing too little for ensuring a cleaner earth are the most prominent ones. It, however, makes sense for these companies to play the savior. After all, fossil fuel reserves are limited and often located in areas filled with political and economic risks, not to mention life risks for the employees (for example, all BP employees working in Colombia are covered under a kidnapping insurance).

BP's origin goes back to 1909 when the Anglo-Persian Oil Company was established to commercially explore and market the oil deposits of Persia (now Iran). The company was renamed the British Petroleum Company in 1954. When the UK government sold off its 31.5% share in 1987, BP became a mid-sized oil company with a huge debt burden and its share price was at an all time low. It faced a financial crisis that resulted in the dividend being halved in 1992, a watershed year in BP's history. Between 1992 and 1995, the global workforce was reduced from 117,000 to 56,000. In 1995, John Browne was appointed CEO. Under Browne's leadership, BP's competitive position strengthened significantly. The company completed a merger with Amoco, another global oil company.

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