Essay Sample on Environment and British Petroleum

Introduction

The British Petroleum (BP) oil spill also referred to as the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill occurred at the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The BP oil spill is until today considered one of the deadliest oil spills in the history of the United States. The oil spill was as a result of an explosion on the British Petroleum's Deepwater Horizon oil rig on April 20, 2010. However, claims arose in 2012 claiming that the oil was still leaking (Malik, 2010). During this disaster, it is reported that over 500 barrels of oil spilled at the Gulf of Mexico on a daily basis. Analysts estimate that a total of 4.9 million barrels were spilled during this disaster. The oil spill lasted for 87 days before it was declared sealed. The explosion resulted in 11 human deaths, killed aquatic life and also led to extensive pollution of the entire environment in the area (Malik, 2010). The oil spill was as a result of capitalism and environmental anthropocentrism characteristics of the company. The organization with an aim to improve and increase profits neglected its responsibility towards the environment. Various laws regulate organizations operating in the oil sector. In the United States, oil organization's business operations are controlled by the Clean Air Act of 1963, the Clean Water Act of 1972 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1970 and the Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974.

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The oil spill raised concerns on the ethical responsibility of British Petroleum as a company as the spill was a major concern due to the effects of the oil spill on the environment. The organization failed to take responsibility for the environment showing high-level negligence and greed on the part of the organization. This essay, therefore, seeks to discuss the ethical issues and immorality of the BP oil spill. The discussion will be based on deontology theory and also discuss strategies that the organization should have implemented during this crisis.

Deontology theory also referred to as the deontological ethics refers to a normative ethical theory which states that the morality of action should be based on whether that action is right or wrong (Darwell, 2008). The theory also argues that a series of rules, as opposed to the consequences of the action, should be used to determine the morality of an action. British Petroleum company actions led to negligence which in turn led to the oil spill. The company had an obligation and a responsibility of observing the general ethical responsibility by ensuring that its operation does not interrupt the environment the company is carrying out its business activities. According to Sharwell (2015), if the actions have moral obligations, the final consequences of the action do not matter. According to the deontology theory, the results of an action do not have moral relevance as long as the moral aspect of the action is immoral within the environment (Darwell, 2008).

BP Company had an ethical obligation and standing that should guide its operations. The organization's code of operations should be such that it does not impact negatively on the surrounding environment where its operations are based. This should include effects on people, living things and any other component of the environment. All operations of the organization should be conducted such that it does not interfere with the standard living and does not undermine the interests of the surrounding community. The BP oil spill was faced with a lot of criticism based on the ethical and moral standards of the company. The organization failed to observe and respect the moral standings in its operations leading to adverse effects on the environment.

The government standards and regulations require that organizations in the oil industry consider the effects of their operations on the immediate environment and develop a code of operations that is aligned with the standards and regulations. BP Company, however, failed to adhere to these standards and instead insisted on a profit-based operations approach. The organization failed to uphold the laid down environmental rules resulting in complacency towards the government standards. Though the organization argued that it conducted routine checks on the pipelines, this is questionable, and it is believed that the organization neglected it ethical responsibility in its operations.

Besides, the oil spilled continued for two months. This raises questions on the ethical and moral responsibilities of the organization. The fact that the spill took such a long time to contain as well as claims in 2012 that the oil spill was still active shows that the organization lacked the necessary countermeasures and disaster response strategies which are a requirement under the law (Malik, 2010). This exposed the environment to the risks of the spill for a longer period thus leading back to questions on the organization's ethical considerations. It was unethical for the company to fail to contribute to the conservation of the environment.

According to the deontology theory, BP Company has a role to undertake each of its operations in such a manner that it is not detrimental to the environment. The company should not only consider running its operations in such a manner that it makes profits at the expense of the environment. Instead, the organization should develop strategies which ensure proper disposal of waste and environmental conservation. The organization should develop a properly laid down guideline on the manner in which its operations are effective while at the same time falling within the environmental safety guidelines and regulations. The organization should also ensure that's its employees are properly trained in safety and waste disposal. This will help minimize cases which are as a result of employee negligence of their ethical and moral responsibilities to the environment. BP Company failure to consider ethical and moral responsibility to the environment resulted in aquatic and human deaths.

References

Darwell, S. (2008). Deontology.

Malik S., (June 29, 2010) Ethical questions surrounding the BP Oil Spill Retrieved from http://blog.practicalethics.ox.ac.uk/2010/06/ethical-questions-surrounding-the-British Petroleum-oil-spill/Sherwell P., (April 20, 2015)

BP Oil Spill: Five Year after 'Worst environmental disaster' in US History, How bad was it? Retrieved from:http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/11546654/BRITISH PETROLEUM-oil-spill-Five-years-after-worst-environmental-disaster-in-US-history-how-bad-was-it-really.html