Oil giant BP is promoting its brand to thousands of schoolchildren in almost 100 schools in Aberdeenshire, an area in which it recently slashed a fifth of its workforce.
Documents obtained by DeSmog UK through freedom of information requests show BP sponsoring a tutoring scheme and cooperating with the local council and universities to place its branding in schools.
DeSmog UK’s investigation shows:
- BP’s branding has been present in primary and secondary schools in Aberdeenshire, with students aged five to 16 years old.
- Some participating schools and tutors are unconvinced of the scheme’s benefits.
- BP pays only £2,000 a year to get its branding in front of thousands of students, despite posting profits of almost $3 billion in 2016.
- BP is closely involved in the design and implementation of the scheme as a member of the controlling steering committee.
- BP retained control over some of the scheme’s output, and sought to use the resources of publicly funded co-sponsors to promote the company’s involvement.