Going Green at an Oil Company () Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Going Green at an Oil Company () - Case Study Example Six months later, an even bigger leak occurred at a refinery within the vicinity of Curitiba – a million gallons of oil flowed into two rivers. Once more, the company was criticized for using outdated technology to detect leaks and for inadequate staffing and lacking emergency plans. The Curitiba accident elicited the worst negative publicity in the history of the company and led to a fine of $115 million being imposed on Petrobras. Just when the company thought that the worst was over, an even worse accident came in March 2001 when the company’s P-36 oil drill sank. Valued at $350 million, the facility was the world’s largest floating production facility. The accident killed 11 of the Petrobras’ employees and leaked over 300, 000 gallons of oil. The three major and several other accidents had far-reaching implications for the company – employees were demoralized, the image of the company was damaged and investor relations suffered (Barros de Cerqueira Pae, 2012). In addition, the hefty fines imposed on the company ate into its profits. Something drastic had to be done. The then CEO of Petrobras responded to the disasters by creating the new position of Director of Health, Safety and Environment (HSE) and introduced the Program for Excellence in Environmental and Operational Safety Management (PEGASO). These two interventions created a springboard from which Gabrielli dived into the business transforming Petrobras into a green oil company when he became the company’s CEO in 2005. In order to turn around Petrobras, Gabrielli adopted a three-point strategy on the environment (Gabrielli de Azevedo, 2009). First, he embarked on improving internal operations. At the heart of Petrobras’ internal strategy is the company’s HSE program. The program is a massive one – between 2009 and 2012, the company committed $2.5 billion in the program. The program is based