Report from BP boss action, RIBA, 23.10.03

A quick feedback from London Rising Tide's action at BP boss's talk on 'the role of energy in sustainable development' at the Royal Institute of British Architects.

Buoyed by a positive article in the business section of that day's Guardian, a small number of London Rising Tiders and friends gave leaflets titled 'John Browne, the future will hold you to account for the crimes of your company...BP: More climate chaos; less social justice' (echoing their new ad campaign) to the mostly engineers attending the gig. Also present was a key decision-maker from the European Bank for Reconstruction & Development (EBRD), who tolerated a passionate denunciation of likely EBRD funding for the pipeline with studied concern.

Banners reading 'Say No to Pipelines of Mass Destruction', 'No Public Money for Baku-Ceyhan pipeline', and 'BP sponsors climate chaos' flanked the entrance. Although BP's chain-smoking global head of security was present, the company had sub-contracted security to a private firm who admitted the names of people applying to attend the talk had been vetted by BP, with at least one name being dropped from the list. Private security guards outnumbered the police, who mooched around making notes and picking up 'Falun Gong' leaflets; (they have a permanent protest outside, since the Chinese Embassy is opposite).

Meanwhile, a disguised dissenter had managed to make it inside, and delivered a searing speech halting Browne in mid-flow, condemning his company's appalling record throughout the world. She was removed aggressively, leaving a few others to ask critical questions at the end, before Browne received a petroleum engineer's award from the Institute of Chemical Engineers.

At the end, we held a mini-cacerolazo (pots and pans protest), and played cat and mouse with Browne, hoping to catch a glimpse of the great man and possibly even grab an autograph. We discovered his chauffeur-driven Merc in a mews at the back of the RIBA, protected by 5 or so security guards and police, but he didn't appear, possibly dreading any interaction with his LRT fan-base. His car drove off without him. His whereabouts are currently unknown.

So, 500 leaflets given out, a positive response from RIBA workers, passers-by and even some engineers, a positive article in the Guardian that morning, and a no-doubt seriously incovenienced BP boss. The turnout was low, but all in all it was a useful escapade with a few laughs thrown in for good measure...

[The Guardian] Greens lose patience with oil giants

Demo planned at BP chief's speech as softer image fails to convince Terry Macalister

Thursday October 23, 2003

Attempts by BP and Shell to present themselves as "enlightened" oil companies mindful of climate change and human rights are running into trouble with protests planned at a talk being given by BP boss Lord Browne tonight. Rising Tide - a loose-knit group of green activists - is organising a rowdy reception for the oil executive when he arrives to give a speech on sustainable development at the Royal Institute of British Architects in London.

Friends of the Earth - a mainstream environmental organisation - confirmed that it too is re-evaluating relations with BP and Shell due to their apparent failure to turn rhetoric into action.

"ExxonMobil is still the bad guy but we are getting increasingly frustrated with BP and Shell which talk about climate change but put their money into [oil and gas] developments in places such as Russia and the Middle East rather than renewable schemes. We are not going to be cosy with them because they are doing bad things," said Roger Higman, climate change campaigner at FoE.

BP has been at the forefront of efforts in recent years to create a softer image, rebranding itself "beyond petroleum" and introducing a sunburst logo in place of the traditional shield.

Lord Browne has promoted transparency in payments to developing nations and talked of the need for large corporations to take a moral stance.

Shell chairman Sir Phil Watts has also been keen for the Anglo-Dutch group to take a lead role in moves on corporate social responsibility.

While this has generally been welcomed and set against the more hardline and traditional stance of Texas-based Exxon, the honeymoon period appears to be over.

Rising Tide has been handing out anti-BP leaflets at institutions sponsored by the company such as the British Museum, National Portrait Gallery and Tate Britain.

The group, which came out of Reclaim the Streets protests, argues that BP is undermining fine words on sustainable development by involvement in the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan pipeline which could be a "human rights disaster".

Rising Tide claims BP invests less than 1% of its annual budget on solar and other renewable energy sources, a great deal less than they spend on advertising and public relations. "Don't be fooled by oil company public relations that the only people opposing their destructive agenda are privileged western environmentalists. In fact resistance to big oil's constant need to find new oil-rich frontiers is most determined amongst some of the world's poorest people," it said.

It wants its supporters to turn up today at RIBA in protest at Lord Browne's talk which it believes will be "top-dollar greenwash". Britain's biggest company rejected the criticism saying it had never presented itself as anything other than an oil and gas supplier but one which wanted to play its part in reducing harmful emissions.

"Energy demand is growing worldwide and it is our job to meet those needs at a reasonable price. We receive $300m a year from our solar business but there is no real commercial alternative [to hydrocarbons] so far," said a BP spokesman. The company has reduced its own CO2 emissions - 10% below where they were in 1990 - partly by concentrating on cleaner fuels such as gas rather than oil. It said it had spent two years doing environmental and social impact studies on the Baku pipeline.

www.burningplanet.net