BP CEO Lord John Browne Should Resign, Says Group

It’s hard to disagree. This group’s well-composed letter explains why:

I urge you to resign from your position at BP plc.

Under your leadership and direction, BP is a model of operational negligence exposing the company to costly litigation, regulatory fines and irreparable harm to the company’s reputation.

For example, poor occupational safety procedures resulted in an explosion at your Texas City, TX refinery in March 2005 killing 15 workers and injuring 170 others. In 2006, poor maintenance of a major oil pipeline in Prudhoe Bay, Alaska resulted in a major oil spill forcing the company to shut down the pipeline for inspection.

In addition, BP is under investigation by U.S. regulators for possible market manipulation of propane gas, crude oil and gasoline markets.

Your obsession with the Beyond Petroleum public relations campaign designed to recreate BP as a “green” and “socially responsible” company diverted hundreds of millions of dollars, resources and management time from oil operations to publicity.

While you personally enjoyed celebrity status as a business leader on global warming and a proponent of alternative energy that got your picture in Vanity Fair, your business operations suffered.

Ironically, instead of being a model of environmental stewardship and a socially responsible company, BP is the icon of operational negligence. The hundreds of millions of dollars spent on image building were wasted.

As Group Chief Executive, you are responsible for these operational failures. Your incompetence and the embarrassment you caused your employees and shareholders should result in a prompt resignation.

A comprehensive explanation of why BP is in its current fix is here. If you think Lord Browne’s resignation would be advisable, and especially if you are a BP shareholder, you can use or modify the letter I copied above at the link and send it on to the Free Enterpriser. Or, if you happen to be in England, the mailing address is also at the link.

More companies devoting precious time, attention, and resources to “Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) are likely to see similar scandals and embarrassments. It’s tough enough for management to run a multibillion-dollar enterprise well and to appropriately represent shareholder interests without the distractions of CSR. With CSR, it has to be darned near impossible.

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