No one seems terribly excited when a company (simply) complies with rules and laws. What we seem to be looking for are companies that go beyond compliance to voluntarily commit to successively breathtaking thresholds of environmental and social impacts…and on a sustainable basis. When we do talk about the dark side of corporate integrity—we’re prone [...]
Nuclear Energy and Corporate Integrity: Can we see our blind spots?
Wednesday, August 3rd, 2011When I was a kid growing up on a farm in south-western Ontario: Every birthday, my mom made my favourite… a red velvet cake…using a full bottle of red food colouring in every cake. My dad burned all our garbage in a barrel, and used DDT to kill weeds in the crops. We watched the [...]
The Management Myth
Friday, April 22nd, 2011By Matthew Stewart During the seven years that I worked as a management consultant, I spent a lot of time trying to look older than I was. I became pretty good at furrowing my brow and putting on somber expressions. Those who saw through my disguise assumed I made up for my youth with a fabulous [...]
Regulation of Offshore Rigs Is a Work in Progress
Saturday, April 16th, 2011By: John M. Broder and Clifford Krauss WASHINGTON — A year after BP’s Macondo well blew out, killing 11 men and spewing millions of barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico, the much-maligned federal agency responsible for policing offshore drilling has been remade, with a tough new director, an awkward new name and a sheaf of stricter [...]
OilSands Power Play
Monday, April 11th, 2011This past Friday, a new group calling for additional oil sands regulation released a discussion paper. What is unusual and surprising about this group is the apparent partnership between the influential Munk Centre of International Studies and noted academics and environmentalists. The paper was issued by Program on Water Issues (POWI), whose director is by Adele [...]
How bad is BP?
Thursday, January 20th, 2011from PRINT EDITION VLADIMIR PUTIN has a wry sense of humour. Commenting on the new tie-up between BP, a British oil firm, and Rosneft, a Russian state-controlled one, he remarked that “one who has been beaten is worth two who haven’t.” That could refer to the reputational battering BP recently sustained after its disaster in [...]
Drilling Is Stalled Even After Ban Is Lifted
Monday, January 3rd, 2011By: Ben Casselmam and Daniel Gilbert More than two months after the Obama administration lifted its ban on drilling in the deep-water Gulf of Mexico, oil companies are still waiting for approval to drill the first new oil well there. Experts now expect the wait to continue until the second half of 2011, and perhaps [...]
Obama administration sues BP, others over gulf spill
Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010The Obama administration…launched a legal battle against BP Plc and its partners by suing them for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, which could cost the companies billions of dollars…”While today’s civil action marks a critical step forward, it is not a final step,” U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder told reporters at a [...]
BP’s failed attempt at organic growth through the drill bit
Wednesday, July 21st, 2010The debate rages about organic vs. non-organic farming. Most people believe organic food is the healthier choice. Organic farming uses naturally occurring chemicals or traditional remedies to control pests and diseases….it’s better for the environment. But, is it always as good as we think? My parents are long-time farmers. They prefer organic methods but also [...]