BP was moving "beyond petroleum"
| BP was moving "beyond petroleum" | |
|---|---|
| MISLEADING | |
| "BP's rebranding as "beyond petroleum" reflected a genuine shift away from oil and gas toward clean energy." | |
| Domain | Climate, Energy & Environment |
| Tactic | Propaganda Technique |
| Era | Current |
| First seen | 2000 |
| Origin | BP's rebranding campaign launched in 2000 |
| Last reviewed | 2026-10-30 |
| Further reading: books on Climate, Energy & Environment | |
In 2000, BP replaced its shield logo with a green and yellow sunburst called the Helios and launched an advertising campaign around the phrase "beyond petroleum." The campaign was widely praised and positioned BP as the oil industry's green leader.
Throughout the period, BP's spending and production remained overwhelmingly in oil and gas.
What the evidence shows
- Spending. Analyses of BP's capital spending found that renewables made up a small single-digit share of investment through the 2000s, while oil and gas made up most of it.
- Exits. BP closed its solar manufacturing business in 2011, and in 2025 it moved to sell its US onshore wind business as part of a retreat from renewables.
- Deepwater Horizon. In 2010, BP's Deepwater Horizon rig exploded, killing 11 workers and causing the largest marine oil spill in US history.
- Retreat. In 2020, BP pledged to cut oil and gas production by 40 percent by 2030. It scaled that back in 2023 and in 2025 announced a "reset" toward oil and gas.
Why it matters
The "beyond petroleum" campaign is a standard case study in greenwashing: branding that runs far ahead of what a company actually does.
Sources
- The Guardian, "BP's 'beyond petroleum' campaign and the history of greenwashing," analysis.
- BP, Annual Report and Form 20-F, 2000–2010 capital expenditure disclosures.
- Reuters, "BP scraps green targets in strategy reset," February 26, 2025.