The decision by multinational Shell not to dispose of the Brent Spar oil facility in the North Atlantic was taken after several occupations of the structure by Greenpeace, and as a result of large scale pro-Greenpeace protest in the UK, Germany and other continental countries. This case is often cited as showing the power of single issue pressure groups and is presented as leading to a pivotal reconsideration by big business of the importance of environmental dimensions. However, detailed research proves that Shell changed its mind on the Brent Spar issue because of the corporate structure of the company which meant that some parts were reluctant to bear the bad publicity. Using this case study, Grant Jordan considers the role of scientific advice in shaping governmental decisions on matters such as BSE, GM foods, global warming - and the consequences of a divided scientific view. He looks at the use of the media by groups and companies attempting to control the political agenda.

This text provides an introduction to the workings of the British political process, clarifying study methods.

Decommissioning the Brent Spar chronicles the events leading up to the recent decision to recycle the offshore installation in a Norwegian fjord; the Greenpeace campaign to stop it being dumped at sea; the repercussions of Shell's decision to abort the decommissioning at the eleventh hour; and the dialogue processes that have occurred to attempt to resolve the issue. This book will give a balanced, impartial account of the whole situation to its present day, its key aim being to inform the reader about the facts and mechanisms of the dialogue process and the need to approach decisions in a different way. Readers will benefit from an account of the mistakes made by both sides, the input from government, the scientific community, the press and public, and can apply this knowledge to future environmental issues.

Part one analyses a wide range of corporate counter-strategies [against critics], from relatively innocent PR measures to complete intelligence operations. Part two offers tactical tools to recognize manipulative strategies, and how to counter them with creativity and new media tools.

The tide is turning against environmentalism as the political right, industry and governments fight back. Green Backlash is a controversial expose of the anti-environmental movement. Tracing the rise of the backlash from the Wise Use movement in the USA, the author reveals its rapid spread worldwide: the anti-roads movement in the UK, forestry debates in Canada and Australia, marine resource issues in Europe, South-East Asia, and controversies such as the Brent Spar. The backlash is set to get worse as the resource wars intensify. This book offers a greater understanding of the challenges and threats facing global environmentalism, concluding that the environmental movement now has a chance to re-evaluate and change for the better to beat the backlash - a chance that must not be missed.

Recently, multinational corporations have begun to reinvent themselves as socially responsible actors, largely in response to anti-corporate activist pressure. The author argues that a concern with corporate reputation is leading to an ideational shift in corporate behaviour – in essence, it is disciplining their behaviour. This innovative exploration of the idea of a self-regulating corporation in an era of globalisation first examines the link between corporate reputation, corporate behaviour and self-regulation, and then goes on to compare and contrast various studies of multinational corporations that have sought to self-regulate. Terry O’Callaghan includes a multifaceted critique of anti-corporate activists. This acknowledges both the dangers that multinational corporations pose to communities, and that anti-corporate activists are the first group to understand the potential risk of targeted campaigns to corporate reputations. He also illustrates his points using three case studies of companies that have attempted to self-regulate: Royal Dutch Shell, the Toyota Motor Corporation and Interface Inc. Undergraduate and postgraduate students of international business, management and business ethics will be interested in the essential topics covered in this book. Academics and practitioners alike will appreciate its accessible lessons about reputational capital and holding multinational corporations accountable.

Research Paper (postgraduate) from the year 2002 in the subject Business economics - Offline Marketing and Online Marketing, grade: 1,3 (A), European University Viadrina Frankfurt (Oder) (Economics - International Business Administration), course: Marketing Seminar, language: English, abstract: In June 1995 the off-shore oil rig Brent Spar, owned by oil and petrol giants Dutch-Shell and British Esso, was supposed to be dumped in a depth of 2400 metres near the Scottish westcoast. British institutions had already permitted the dumping, which due to institutional investigations didn’t violate the international environmental conventions made in Oslo and Paris to protect the sea. But suddenly the environmental organization Greenpeace launched a European-wide protest campaign to prevent the dumping of Brent Spar, which resulted in massive boycotts of Shell’s petrol stations all over the continent. The enormous public support of Greenpeace’s campaign forced Dutch-Shell not to dump Brent Spar but to tow it into a Norwegian fjord where it has been stored until today. By now there hasn’t been a solution for the disposal of the oil rig. In the case of Brent Spar everyone mentioned responsibility. The responsibility of the Dutch-Shell company to protect the environment, to report about future actions and their consequences and to base decision-making on more than just the opinions of shareholders. According to the public opinion, Dutch-Shell hadn’t taken this responsibility, the so-called social responsibility, which turned out to harm the image and sales of the company for years. This project work will explain the meaning and the role of social responsibility in marketing concerning past, present and future developments. Looking at the societal markteting concept supporting educational and cultural issues , we’ll see why and in which way firms adopt the societal marketing concept and how this affects their businesses, customers, organizations, governments and the society as a whole. But at first we have to define what we’ll be speaking about. So what do social responsibility and the societal marketing concept mean? [...]