Abstract
ABSTRACT While oil companies are known to proliferate strategic economic and moral discourses, less is known about their attempts to continue legitimizing their organizations in an age of energy transition. Taking BP’s Net Zero by 2050 initiative as a case study, this project engages Fisher’s narrative paradigm to identify how a quid pro quo sustainability functions in the organization’s communication. Narrative analysis of recent public-facing oil industry communication suggests BP is presenting the public with a strategic threat. Quid pro quo sustainability empowers oil companies by threatening to withhold clean energy should its profits and authority be disrupted. As a result, BP relies on a narrative of its figural status as a patriarchal energy provider even as sustainability research demonstrates the illegitimacy of these claims. With the concept of quid pro quo sustainability comes an opportunity for environmental communicators to cultivate counternarratives of energy democracies.
Published Version
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
