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Werunarangeofprogrammestobuildtheskillsofbusinessesinplaces
whereweworkandtodevelopthelocalsupplychain.Theserangefrom
nancingtosharingglobalstandardsandpracticeinareassuchashealth
andsafety.Theprogrammesbenetlocalcompaniesbyempoweringthem
toreachthestandardsneededtosupplyBPandotherclients.Atthesame
timeBPbenetsfromthelocalsourcingofgoodsandservices.
Weworkwithlocalauthorities,communitygroupsandothersto
delivercommunityprogrammesmatchedtolocalinterestsandneeds.
Theserangefromeducationprogrammestocommunityinfrastructure
programmesthathelppeopleindevelopingeconomiesaccessbasic
resourcessuchasdrinkingwaterandhealthcare.
Weuseourtechnicalknowledgeandglobalreachwhererelevantto
supportgovernmentsintheireffortstodeveloptheireconomies
sustainably.Aswellascountry-specicprojects,wesupportmoregeneral
initiatives,includingtheOxfordCentrefortheAnalysisofResource-Rich
Economies,whichstudieshowcountriesthatarerichinnaturalresources
suchasoilandgas,canusetheirresourcesforsuccessfuldevelopment
ratherthanfallingpreytomismanagement,corruptionandotherpitfalls.
Wesupportvariousvoluntary,multi-stakeholderinitiativesaimed
atsharingbestpracticeandimprovingindustry-widemanagementofkey
socialandeconomicchallenges.WeareamemberoftheExtractive
IndustriesTransparencyInitiative,whichsupportsthecreationofa
standardizedprocessfortransparentreportingofcompanypaymentsand
governmentrevenuesfromoil,gasandmining.Wearealsoaparticipantin
theVoluntaryPrinciplesonSecurityandHumanRightsthroughwhichwe
havedevelopedarobustinternalprocessdesignedtoensurethatthe
securityofouroperationsaroundtheworldismaintainedinamanner
consistentwithourgroupstanceonhumanrights.
Ourdirectspendingoncommunityprogrammesin2010was
$115.2million,whichincludedcontributionsof$22.9millionintheUS,
$36.7millionintheUK(including$6.5milliontoUKcharities,relatingto
$3.6millionforart,$1.3millionforcommunitydevelopment,$0.8million
foreducation,$0.5millionforhealthand$0.3millionforotherpurposes),
$3millioninotherEuropeancountriesand$52.6millionintherestof
theworld.Fundingforourresponseeffortandlong-termcommitments
totheGulfCoastregionishandledbytheGulfCoastRestoration
Organization.
Researchandtechnology
BP’sresearchandtechnology(R&T)modelisoneofselectivetechnology
leadership.Wehavechosen20majortechnologyprogrammesthatsupport
ourcompetitiveperformanceinresourceaccess,advancedconversion,
differentiatedproductsandlower-carbonenergy.BPenhanceditsscientic
capabilityin2010throughtherecruitmentofanewchiefscientistand
chiefbioscientist.
ExternalassuranceisachievedthroughtheTechnologyAdvisory
Council,whichadvisestheboardandexecutivemanagementonthestate
ofR&TwithinBP.Thecounciltypicallycompriseseightto10eminent
businessandacademictechnologyleaders.
In2010,ourexpenditureonresearchanddevelopment(R&D)was
$780million,comparedwith$587millionin2009and$595millionin2008.
SeeFinancialstatements–Note14onpage175.The2010amount
includes$211millionofR&DexpenditurerelatedtotheGulfofMexicooil
spill.Despitetheredeploymentofmanytechnologistsinresponsetothe
spill,underlyingR&Dexpenditurefor2010remainedsimilartothetwo
preceedingyears.The$780milliontotalexcludespaymentsmadein
relationtotheGulfofMexicoResearchInitiative,outlinedbelow.
CollaborationplaysanimportantroleacrossthebreadthofBP’s
R&Dactivities,butparticularlyinthoseareasthatbenetfromfundamental
scienticresearch:
• InresponsetotheGulfofMexicooilspill,BPhasestablishedtheGulf
ofMexicoResearchInitiative,a10-year$500-millionopen-research
programmeintotheeffectsofthespill.Theultimategoalofthe
researcheffortswillbetoimprovesociety’sabilitytomitigatethe
impactsofhydrocarbonpollutionandrelatedstressorsofthemarine
environment.In2010,BPawarded$40millionofshort-termcontracts
forimmediateresearchintotheeffectsofthespill.
• BPhassignicant,long-termresearchprogrammeswithmajor
universitiesandresearchinstitutionsaroundtheworld,exploringareas
fromenergybioscienceandconversiontechnologytocarbonmitigation
andnanotechnologyinsolarpower.2010markedtwosignicant
milestones–the10-yearanniversariesofboththeCarbonMitigation
Initiative(CMI)atPrincetonUniversityandtheBPInstitutefor
MultiphaseFlow(BPI)attheUniversityofCambridge.Thesuccessof
theCMIhasresultedinagreementforBPtosupportanadditionalve
yearsofresearch.BPhasalsoagreedtoincreasetheBPIendowment
fundtosupportanextraseniorresearcherandpart-timeadministrator.
• T heBPFoundationfundedthenewMcKenzieChairinEarthSciences
attheUniversityofCambridge.TheChairwillensurethecontinued
excellenceofresearchandteachingofquantitativeearthsciencesin
thedepartment.
• AttheEnergyBiosciencesInstitute(EBI)inBerkeley,US,the
investmentinfoundationalresearchplatformshasstartedtogenerate
innovationswithdirectcommercialrelevance.Therstoftheseare
beingadoptedbythebiofuelsbusinessintocommercialpractice.The
EBI’scapabilitiesdevelopedforthestudyofmicrobially-enhancedoil
andgasrecoverywereleveragedtostudythemicrobialbiodegradation
oftheoilspillintheGulfofMexico.
• BPisafoundingmemberoftheUK’sEnergyTechnologiesInstitute
(ETI)–apublic/privatepartnershipestablishedin2008toaccelerate
low-carbontechnologydevelopment.Asat31December2010,the
ETIhadcommissionedover$92millionofworkcoveringmorethan
20projectsacrossawiderangeoftechnologies.TheETIhasalso
developedanintegratedmodeloftheUKenergysystem,which
projectspotentialpathwaysoutto2050tomeettheUK’s
emissionstargets.
• TheEnergySustainabilityChallengeisamulti-disciplinaryresearch
programmeaimedatunderstandingpressuresonfreshwateravailability
andincreasingcompetitionforlandandmineralresources,drivenbythe
impactofincreasingpopulationandurbanizationonenergydemand.
Researchprojectswithleadinguniversitiesareunderway,investigating
theeffectsofnaturalresourcescarcitiesonpatternsofenergysupply
andconsumption,andwhichtechnologiesarelikelytobeneededinan
increasinglyresource-constrainedworld.
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