BP Australia
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Owned |
UK |
Rating |
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Oil & gas
BP has operated in Australia since 1920 and today makes money from oil and gas exploration, developing, production, refining, transporting and selling. BP supplies fuel to about 1400 service stations. Around 1000 of these are independently owned, but sell fuel under the BP brand. In 2019 Australian property company Charter Hall Group bought a 49 per cent stake in a portfolio of 225 BP sites. The remainder are company owned and operated.
Company Ownership
BP Australia Pty Ltd | AUS | website | ||||
BP PLC ![]() owns 100% of BP Australia Pty Ltd |
UK | website | ||||
Oil and gas producers One of the world's largest oil and gas companies. |
Company Assessment
PRAISE | CRITICISM | INFORMATION | ||
BP Australia Pty Ltd | ||||
Signatory to the Australian Packaging Covenant, a voluntary agreement to encourage waste minimisation.
Source: Australian Packaging Covenant (2020) |
This company won an award in 2013 from the Australian Packaging Covenant, for demonstrating their commitment to environmental sustainability by performing 'above and beyond' in their efforts to minimise waste. This company achieved the highest overall score in their category, transport, fuel and tobacco.
Source: Australian Packaging Covenant (2013)
100% Fairtrade Certified coffee and hot chocolate is available in all Wild Bean Cafes in Australia.
Source: Fairtrade ANZ (2015) |
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BP PLC | ||||
The 2019 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 200 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world from the Agricultural Products, Apparel, Extractives and ICT Manufacturing sectors on 100 human rights indicators. This company's score was in the 50-60 band range. The overall average score was a disappointing 24%.
Source: CHRB (2019)
This company received a score of 69.5/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Source: Newsweek (2017) |
This company ranked 6th on the list of 100 oil & gas companies in the 2016 Carbon Underground 200, a ranking of fossil fuel companies being targeted for divestment. Companies are ranked by the potential carbon emissions content of their proven reserves. The reserves of these companies total almost five times more than can be burned for the world to have an 80% chance of limiting global temperature rise to 2°C.
Source: Fossil Free Indexes (2016)
In Nov 2012 BP agreed to plead guilty to felony manslaughter, environmental crimes and obstruction of Congress and pay a record US$4 billion in criminal fines and penalties for its conduct leading to the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster that killed 11 people and caused the largest environmental disaster in US history.
Source: US Dept of Justice (2012)
In 2015 BP settled all remaining federal, state and local civil claims related to the Deepwater Horizon disaster for a total of $20.8 billion. The largest portions of that amount were a $5.5 billion Clean Water Act penalty, $8.1 billion in natural resources damages and $4.9 billion in economic damages to state and local governments.
Source: news article (2015)
BP reached a $7.8b settlement in March 2012 with lawyers representing thousands of plaintiffs who were affected by the worst oil spill in US history in April 2010, which killed 11 workers and poured millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. BP continues to face civil charges from five Gulf Coast state governments.
Source: news article (2012)
As You Sow's 2019 report, 'Disclosing the Facts: Transparency and Risk in Hydraulic Fracturing Operations', benchmarks 28 companies engaged in hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') against investor needs for disclosure of operational impacts and mitigation efforts. This company only succeeded in disclosing information on 5 of the 43 indicators related to management of toxic chemicals, water and waste, air emissions, methane leakage and community impacts.
Source: As You Sow (2019)
Platform's 2013 report 'Making a Killing: Oil Companies, Tax Avoidance and Subsidies' accuses BP of large scale UK tax avoidance. BP receives major government support including direct subsidies and military and diplomatic services, but seem to pay very small amounts of UK tax in comparison to their global profits. BP and Shell are particularly committed to tax havens, with more tax-dodging subsidiaries than their competitors: 605 and 523 high-secrecy subsidiaries respectively.
Source: Platform (2013)
The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) charged BP plc on 15.11.12 with misleading investors while its Deepwater Horizons oil rig was gushing into the Gulf of Mexico by significantly understating the rate in multiple reports filed with the SEC. BP agreed to settle the SEC's charges by paying US$525m, the third largest penalty in the agency's history. The SEC will establish a Fair Fund to provide compensation to investors who sustained losses in the fraud.
Source: US SEC (2012) |
This company appeared second on RepRisk's top ten "most environmentally and socially controversial companies of 2010". Companies on the list were severely criticised during 2010 by the world's media, governments and NGOs. Criticisms of BP include involvement in the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, Canadian tar sands, fracking, human rights abuses in Angola, and ongoing violent persecution of unionized workers at its operations in Colombia. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: RepRisk (2010)
In public, BP talks about its commitment to renewable energy and its tree-planting carbon offset schemes, but in 2009 the company has pulled out of several major renewable projects and reduced its investment in renewable energy substantially, while continuing to invest heavily in fossil fuels. Consumers International think a greenwash award is most definitely in order. [Listed under Information due to age of award]
Source: Consumers International (2009)
BP has received a number of multi-million dollar fines for safety breaches following an explosion at a Texas oil refinery in 2005 which killed 15 people. In court cases related to the incident BP were fined $13m in 2012, $51m in 2010, $87m in 2009, $373m in 2007, and $21.3m in 2005. [Listed under Information due to age of court findings]
Source: news article (2010)
This company has been criticised by ActionAid for having subsidiaries in tax havens. One of the main reasons companies have subsidiaries in tax havens is to dodge their taxes. Developing countries lose more to tax dodging than they receive in aid each year.
Source: ActionAid (2011)
Named one of Multinational Monitor's '10 Worst Corporations of 2007' [listed under information due to age of report].
Source: Multinational Monitor (2007)
BP is listed on the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database as having 63 instances of misconduct since 1995 amounting to almost US$15 billion in penalties. Instances include underpayment of royalties, safety violations, and pollution.
Source: Project on Government Oversight (POGO) (2013)
This company is a member of Bonsucro - Better Sugar Cane Initiative, a global non-profit, multi-stakeholder organisation fostering the sustainability of the sugarcane sector through its leading metric-based certification scheme and its support for continuous improvement for members.
Source: Bonsucro (2019)
The United Nations Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set of 10 values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment, and anti-corruption. However it's non-binding nature has been widely criticised, and many signatory corporations continue to violate the Compact's values.
Source: UN Global Compact (2020)
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: Modern Slavery Registry (2017)
In 2018 the Union of Concerned Scientists published their Climate Accountability Scorecard, which measures the progress of major fossil fuel companies to stop spreading climate disinformation and to fix their business plans to achieve dramatic reductions in global warming emissions. This company rated Poor for disinformation, and Fair for business planning, policy and disclosure.
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists (2018)
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.
Source: Open Secrets (2014)
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 48/100 in the Oil & Gas - Upstream & Integrated category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 7 Feb 2021). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2021)
The Corporate Research Project's Corporate Rap Sheets are dossiers summarising the most significant crimes, violations and other questionable activities of the world's largest and most controversial companies. Follow link to see this company's Corporate Rap Sheet. "The company has been the target of intense criticism for its role in the April 2010 explosion at a drilling platform in the Gulf of Mexico that killed 11 workers and caused an underwater leak that spewed millions of gallons of crude oil into the ocean, creating the most serious environmental disaster in U.S. history. The company later paid a record $4 billion in fines and penalties while pleading guilty to manslaughter and other criminal charges. This incident in the Gulf occurred while BP was still contending with the legal and public relations fallout from a deadly explosion at a refinery in Texas, oil spills in the Alaskan tundra, and charges of manipulating energy commodities markets. BP has also faced human rights charges in countries such as Indonesia, Turkey, and Colombia."
Source: Corporate Research Project (2018) |
Company Details
Type | Wholly-owned subsidiary |
Revenue | 18.6 billion AUD in 2018 |
Employees | 5,700 in 2018 |
Aus Manufacturing | Yes |
Subsidiaries | David Jones BP (50% owned) ![]() Convenience stores Gourmet convenience food joint venture between David Jones Food and BP Australia which kicked off in 2019. By the end of 2020 they will be operating 31 dual-branded sites across Melbourne and Sydney. |
Contact Details
Address | 717 Bourke St, Docklands, VIC, 3008, Australia |
Phone | 1300 130 027 |
aucustcare@bp.com | |
Website | www.bp.com.au |
Products / Brands
BP AustraliaDavid Jones BP (50% owned)
David Jones Food BP Fuel & Convenience Stores |