How BP is changing

In response to the Gulf of Mexico accident in 2010, we initiated a wide-ranging programme designed to enhance safety and risk management within the group and earn back trust. Much has been achieved, but there is a great deal more to do

Safety and operational risk
Our independent safety and operational risk (S&OR) function is now well established. A team that is now close to 600 in number, S&OR sets our company-wide requirements for safety and operational risk management and works alongside our businesses to support and scrutinize their efforts towards greater conformance.
What’s next? We will continue to develop our capabilities in this area and to support our businesses as they continue the ongoing process of conformance with our operating management system.

Risk management
We have initiated a review of our risk management system and begun enhancing the clarity, simplicity and consistency of the way we manage and report risks. We have standardized our reporting processes so that businesses and functions have a consistent way of reporting risk – from our frontline operations to the board.
What’s next? We will continue to embed the enhancements to our risk management system through greater alignment of risk management activities and business processes.

Upstream restructuring
We have reshaped our upstream business into three divisions – exploration, developments and production – and centralized our drilling wells activity into a single organization. Over the long term, we believe these changes will help foster the development of expertise and reinforce accountability for managing risk.
What’s next? We will continue to implement recommendations from the internal investigation into the Deepwater Horizon accident for our drilling operations.

Values and behaviours
Our refreshed values – safety, respect, excellence, courage and one team – reflect the qualities and behaviours that distinguish BP at its best. Our values are explicitly linked to our code of conduct, which reflects the behaviours that are expected of everyone who works for BP.
What’s next? We will track progress through line manager discussions and performance reviews.

Contractor management
We have conducted a best-practice review of 21 organizations that use contractors in potentially high-consequence activities. The findings are informing our contractor management approach.
What’s next? As a priority, we are reviewing contracts in our upstream supply chain that involve potentially high-consequence activities.

Individual performance and reward
We have aligned employee performance and reward with our values and introduced 'safety' and 'taking a long-term perspective' as key indicators of individual performance. In annual performance conversations, staff are now asked to set priorities on their contribution to safety, compliance and risk management.
What’s next? We will include BP’s overall performance in determining individuals’ bonuses.

Technology
We have established four new cross-business science networks within BP. This is one part of our push to use technology more strategically throughout our organization, helping us to develop the sustainable capabilities we need to operate effectively and meet our long-term goals as a company.
What’s next? We are rolling out new formal requirements to help our businesses be more consistent in the way they manage technology and a new framework for technical career planning and training.

Non-operated joint ventures
We initiated a review into our approach to the management of our relationships with significant non-operated joint venture operators and partners. This work includes safety and operational risk, as well as bribery and corruption risk.
What’s next? We intend to enhance the consistency of focus on BP’s exposure to these risk areas in our processes for participating in new and existing non-operated joint ventures.

Attestation
The information on this page forms part of the information reviewed and reported on by Ernst & Young as part of BP's 2011 sustainability reporting.

» How BP is changing