This Would Explain Why Browne Is Stepping Down Early

From CNN International:

BP Failed on Safety — US PanelPOSTED: 1533 GMT (2333 HKT), January 16, 2007

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) — British oil company BP failed to emphasize safety at its U.S. refineries before the 2005 Texas City explosion that killed 15, according to a report released Tuesday by an independent panel led by former U.S. Secretary of State James A. Baker III.

The panel, in a statement summarizing its 300-plus page report on BP PLC’s operations, said the company had made strides in personal accident prevention but came up short on the bigger picture.

“The panel maintains a central theme that prior to the Texas City tragedy BP emphasized personal safety and had achieved significant improvements in personal injury rates, but the company did not emphasize process safety,” the statement said. “BP mistakenly interpreted improving personal injury rates as an indication of acceptable process safety performance at its U.S. refineries.”

It’s hard not to think that losing focus on safety was not at least an inadvertent casualty of Chief Executive John Browne’s misguided forays into “Corporate Social Responsibility.”

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Previous related posts:

• Jan. 12, 2007 — BP: Browne Stepping Down Early
• Nov. 25, 2006 — Friedman and ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ — It’s Not the Line That’s Blurred, It’s Peoples’ Thinking That Has Moved the Line
• Sept. 14 — BP CEO Lord John Browne Should Resign, Says Group
• Sept. 9 — The Corporate Social Responsibility Appeasers Are Probably Long-Term Market Underperformers
• Aug. 22 — Column of the Day, Plus Timeless Essay of the Day, on “Corporate Social Responsibility”