BP “Beyond Petroleum” campaign and carbon footprint calculator
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
BP and the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather launched a “Beyond Petroleum” branding campaign in 2000 and a personal carbon footprint calculator in 2004. A researcher says the campaign helped spread the term “carbon footprint” and directed responsibility to individuals; BP says it did not popularise the concept.
Estimate. Beder (2002), a critical source, put about $200m on rebranding facilities and about $400m on gasoline advertising and a new logo; the sum is an arithmetic estimate and the research record says the roughly $200m figure that circulated in the press was not the total.
Status As of October 2026 (research update of 10 October 2026): BP disputes that it popularised the term “carbon footprint”; no ruling or formal finding on the campaign appears in the sources reviewed.
What happened
In 2000 BP launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand with the advertising agency Ogilvy & Mather. Ogilvy had been Shell North America’s agency from 1960 to 1999 and BP’s after 1999, according to DeSmog. Beder (2002), a critical source, put BP’s allocation in 2000–2002 at about $200 million for rebranding facilities and about $400 million for gasoline advertising and a new logo.
In 2004 BP introduced a personal carbon footprint calculator on its website. BP’s own figure was that 278,000 people used it that year; another account, from the WBUR programme On Point, gave about 250,000 users in the first year. Sources give the calculator’s year as 2004 or 2005. In 2005 BP advertisements asked what a carbon footprint was and how large it was. In October 2019 BP invited users on Twitter to find their footprints with a new calculator.
The concept itself came from academic work: the ecological footprint was set out by William Rees in 1992 and developed by Mathis Wackernagel, according to Britannica. Wackernagel has said BP gave the term “carbon footprint” its biggest push, and use of the term rose sharply after 2005 (Google Ngram, as cited in secondary sources). Geoffrey Supran, a climate-accountability researcher at the University of Miami, said on WBUR in December 2023 that the campaign and the website calculator directed responsibility toward the individual consumer and that BP’s advertising spending exceeded $100 million a year in 2004–2006. BP disputes that it popularised the concept.
The research record found no internal BP document on the intent of the campaign; the claim that it aimed to shift responsibility to individuals is an inference. It also records that the term “carbon footprint” was used before BP’s campaign, in 1999 according to one source, and that its first use is not documented.
On BP’s investment, the research record cites BP’s 2005 Form 20-F, which put the alternative-energy share of its investment at 1.7–5.7% in 2005, and a peer-reviewed study (Li, Trencher and Asuka, 2022) that put clean energy at slightly above 2% of BP’s capital expenditure in 2010–2018, against 1.33% at Shell and about 0.2% at ExxonMobil and Chevron. In February 2025, according to World Oil, BP cut its transition investment to $1.5–2 billion a year and raised oil and gas spending to about $10 billion.
- 1992William Rees publishes the ecological footprint concept; Mathis Wackernagel develops the method
- 1999Ogilvy’s agency work for Shell North America (from 1960) ends; Ogilvy becomes BP’s agency afterwards
- 2000BP and Ogilvy & Mather launch the “Beyond Petroleum” brand
- 20022000–2002: about $200m on rebranding facilities and about $400m on gasoline advertising and a new logo (Beder)
- 2004BP introduces a personal carbon footprint calculator; BP says 278,000 people used it that year
- 2005BP advertisements ask what a carbon footprint is and how large it is; use of the term rises sharply afterwards; alternative-energy share of BP investment 1.7–5.7%
- 20062004–2006: advertising spending above $100m a year, according to Supran (WBUR)
- 2007The campaign wins an advertising award
- 20182010–2018: clean energy slightly above 2% of BP’s capital expenditure (Li, Trencher and Asuka, 2022)
- 2019October: BP invites Twitter users to find their footprints with a new calculator
- 2023WBUR On Point (19 December) discusses the campaign; BP says it did not popularise the concept
- 2025February: BP cuts transition investment to $1.5–2bn a year and raises oil and gas spending to about $10bn (World Oil)
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
The campaign and the calculator on BP’s website directed responsibility toward the individual consumer (WBUR, December 2023).
WBUR On PointBP gave the term its biggest push; use of the term rose sharply after 2005 (Google Ngram).
A budget of about $200 million circulated in the press; the research record says it was not the total.
BederAbout $200 million on rebranding facilities and about $400 million on gasoline advertising and a new logo, 2000–2002.
BederAdvertising spending exceeded $100 million a year in 2004–2006.
WBUR On PointHow it looked
Shown
- A “Beyond Petroleum” brand launched in 2000 with Ogilvy & MatherBP · Beder
- A personal carbon footprint calculator on BP’s website, 2004; 278,000 people used it that yearBP’s own figure, as reported by DeSmog · DeSmog
- Advertisements in 2005 asking people what a carbon footprint is and how large theirs isBP advertising, as described in the sources reviewed
- A new footprint calculator promoted to users on Twitter, October 2019BP
Recorded
- Beder (2002): about $200m on rebranding facilities and about $400m on gasoline advertising and a new logo, 2000–2002; the roughly $200m figure circulating in the press was not the total
- Supran (WBUR, 2023): advertising spending above $100m a year in 2004–2006
- Alternative-energy share of BP investment was 1.7–5.7% in 2005 (BP Form 20-F 2005, as cited in secondary sources)
- Clean energy slightly above 2% of BP’s capital expenditure in 2010–2018, against 1.33% at Shell and about 0.2% at ExxonMobil and Chevron; the “transition” word group in BP’s reports rose from 50 to 418 mentions over the same period (Li, Trencher and Asuka, 2022, peer-reviewed)
- February 2025: BP cut transition investment to $1.5–2bn a year and set about $10bn for oil and gas (World Oil, 26 February 2025, as cited in secondary sources)
- No internal BP document on the campaign’s intent was found; the aim of shifting responsibility is an inference
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- BP (2023): Said it did not popularise the carbon footprint concept. · WBUR On Point
- BP (2004): Reported that 278,000 people used its personal carbon footprint calculator in 2004. · DeSmog
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Figures
- Self-reported only Calculator users: BP’s own figure for users of its carbon footprint calculator that year; WBUR gave about 250,000 in the first year.
Accounts
Record
- Unclear Whether BP’s campaign was designed to shift responsibility to individuals: no internal BP document on its intent was found; the aim is an inference by critics.
- None on record Who first used the term “carbon footprint”: the first use is not documented; one source reports a use in 1999.
- Unclear Total campaign spending: the research record states that the roughly $200 million figure circulated in the press was not the total, and the sources give different periods and items.
- Self-reported only Calculator users: 278,000 in 2004 (BP’s own figure) against about 250,000 in the first year (WBUR); the calculator’s year is given as 2004 or 2005.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a 2021 study by Supran and Oreskes reportedly found that ExxonMobil’s communications emphasised consumer “demand” and individualised responsibility; the number of documents analysed is given as 180 in one source and 212 in another.
Did the harm stop?
No harm to nature is recorded in the sources for this case; the record concerns a communications campaign, a calculator and company investment shares.
Who paid?
Not applicable: the sources record BP’s campaign spending, not compensation for harm.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Ogilvy (profile)DeSmog ·
- How big oil helped push the idea of a carbon footprintWBUR On Point · 2023-12-19
- Deconstructing the carbon footprintOpen Mind ·
Researchers
- Ecological footprint (Rees and Wackernagel)Britannica ·
Connected cases
- Bolivian carbon scheme claimed 55 million tonnes; review found at most 5.8 million Bolivia · 1997–2010
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: company; partner in the scheme; donor to TNC
- BP acquires majority stake in Finite Carbon, a US forest carbon developer United States · 2020
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: acquirer of a majority stake in Finite Carbon
- BP and Eni do not declare gas flared at Iraq's Rumaila field, citing non-operator status Iraq · 2021–2022
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: Non-operator; does not declare Rumaila gas flaring
- BP Deepwater Horizon: the spill, the court cases and the recovery claims United States · 2010–2031
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: Well operator and lease holder; pleaded guilty; paid $20.8bn civil settlement; self-insured
- BP's Gulf spill used Corexit; Nalco board had ex-BP and Exxon executives United States · date not stated
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: Company responsible for the spill response and dispersant choice
- COP28 decision promoted carbon capture and left room for transition fuels United Arab Emirates · 2023
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: Member of the Global CCS Institute; three of six executives worked or work here
- Danone, Unilever and BP scaled back sustainability goals between 2021 and 2025 Global · 2021–2025
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: Oil company that cut low-carbon investment in 2025
- UK agreed up to £21.7bn over 25 years for two CCS clusters United Kingdom · 2024
- BP (Company) — here: Launched the “Beyond Petroleum” brand and the carbon footprint calculator; there: named as a leading company behind the clusters