bp’s sustainability framework – good for people, good for the planet
Reflecting on bp’s newly announced sustainability aims, Nick Lawson sets out why they matter to him and should matter to you too
"When bp announced its net zero ambition back in February 2020, I thanked my lucky stars! I had just started in a new role focused on getting our employees engaged in the energy transition, and suddenly I felt like the whole company was behind me."
While our Aims 1-5 hit the headlines (getting bp to net zero), it was Aim 7 that stood out to me. This was where I could make a difference and be part of bp’s journey to net zero.
As a reminder – Aim 7 is ‘Incentivize employees to deliver on our aims and advocate for net zero’.
Aim 7 may say ‘advocate for net zero’, but I always felt like my role was about advocating for sustainability. The world is on an unsustainable path and we need to get to net zero, but we also need to do it in the right way – improving people’s lives and caring for our planet in the process.
Last week bp launched 10 new sustainability aims that do just that. These sit alongside the 10 net zero aims and provide the guardrails that will help us to also enhance biodiversity, provide more clean energy and support a just transition.
They help to inform decision making and planning across bp, guiding us to do the right thing by our employees, our customers and the communities we support – all while generating value for our stakeholders. I see these aims (all 20 of them) as a benchmark to track our progress and how we can be held accountable to deliver them.
For bp to deliver on this strategy, it’s clear to me that having our employees engaged and advocating for sustainability is more important than ever. We all need to take sustainability seriously, to take responsibility and to take action.
For me this has meant:
At work -
switching jobs to lead a low carbon programme, launching an employee carbon offsetting benefit and leading the Aim 7 (employee engagement in net zero) project.
In my community -
volunteering as a school governor and doing more charitable giving.
At home -
eating less meat, travelling less (Covid has made this one easy…) and buying to last.
10 new sustainability aims
Our ambition is to be a net zero company by 2050 or sooner and to help the world get to net zero. We have set out 10 aims to support this ambition.
