Business leaders often recognize the value of engaging in key social or environmental issues, but they need new strategies, according to Lord John Browne, former chief executive officer of BP.
Browne was famously the first CEO of an oil and gas who acknowledged climate change and said that his company and the industry at large needed to do something about it. It was far from a popular position in 1997.
That speech ushered in an era at the company that proponents termed “Beyond Petroleum,” and critics accused of greenwashing. Browne set policies to control carbon dioxide emissions, improve efficiency and harness technology to curb the company's impact on climate. He also invested more resources and elevated the importance of the solar business.
About the author
Adva Saldinger@AdvaSal
Adva Saldinger is a Senior Reporter at Devex where she covers development finance, as well as U.S. foreign aid policy. Adva explores the role the private sector and private capital play in development and authors the weekly Devex Invested newsletter bringing the latest news on the role of business and finance in addressing global challenges. A journalist with more than 10 years of experience, she has worked at several newspapers in the U.S. and lived in both Ghana and South Africa.
