Community Impact
Investing in the communities where we operate
For more than 50 years, we have invested our time, skills and money to seek to make meaningful contribution to the communities where we operate. Our social investments are predominantly directed toward three main areas of action – building capability for the future, supporting resilient communities and partnering on environmental sustainability projects.
bp’s Louise Kingham, senior vice president Europe and head of country UK explores how businesses can positively impact communities on the Lens Podcast.
Building capability
We believe that to be prepared for the jobs of tomorrow, students will continue to need a strong foundation in STEM education and employability skills. We provide a range of educational resources and employability support to help inspire the next generation and develop home-grown talent with the skills the energy sector needs to deliver energy to the world, today and tomorrow.
Transition skills on Teesside
The Teesside Clean Energy Technician scholarship programme that we funded at Redcar & Cleveland College welcomed it's second group of 20 students in autumn 2024 for the two-year engineering programme. There are now 40 students on the programme – helping young people develop skills needed for the future.
STEM resources for educators and students
Educators are key to encourage interest in STEM subjects, and we are backing programmes that provide them with enhanced skills, tools and resources to captivate their students.
Programmes like the Science Museum Academy, ENTHUSE and Energising Futures provide educational training, development and resources. Together they have reached over 13,000 educators in 2024, with an estimated total reach of well over 1 million students.
Boosting social mobility
We want to give everyone the opportunity to succeed, whatever their start in life. That is why we are providing a wide range of opportunities, supporting programmes across the UK that are aimed at supporting social mobility and engaging local communities.
We launched our work experience programmes in 2023 and now reach more than 300 young people each year in the UK. Since 2022 our collaboration with Migrant Leaders, a UK charity that works with disadvantaged young migrants to broaden their horizons, has helped young people to develop the key skills and confidence they need for a future in the workplace.
Supporting resilient communities
We are committed to activities that support local livelihoods and enterprise, drive positive health and wellbeing outcomes, and contributing to building healthy and resilient communities.
Get into Retail with The King’s Trust
We partner with The King’s Trust on their flagship ‘Get into Retail’ programme that gives participants access to valuable work experience and employability training.
Our successful partnership provided 32 disadvantaged young people with two-week retail placements and employability training in 2023-24. Out of those, 24 went on to work for bp.
Volunteering and charitable giving
We have a long history of direct support through charitable donations, partnership programmes and sharing our time and expertise.
In 2024, our employees volunteered 33,500 hours and donated nearly £1 million to charitable causes, including matched funding from the bp Foundation.
Keeping UK youth centres up and running
We provided funding to OnSide, the national youth charity behind Youth Zones – a network of state-of-the-art youth centres located in some of the UK’s most disadvantaged communities.
There are 15 Youth Zones in the OnSide network, providing 55,000 young people with life-changing opportunities and support.
Tackling food poverty
In 2023 our work continued with UK charities dedicated to addressing food poverty and reducing waste.
We have been supporting Feeding Families, a food poverty charity based in north-east England, to help provide food to those who need it most.
Partnering for environmental sustainability
Through our partnerships and programmes in different parts of the UK, we are taking action in support of environmental sustainability projects. We have been investing in support of the UK’s biodiversity for decades, including our 20-year collaboration with Future Woodlands Scotland, which originated with the pioneering Scottish Forest Alliance. The Alliance successfully added 5,000 hectares of new or restored native woodland, enriching Scotland’s biodiversity.
Urban forestry programme
In 2024, applications opened for the 2024 Urban Forestry Challenge Fund which is part of a commitment to provide up to £10 million over 10 years to support Urban Forestry Programme with our long-standing partner Future Woodlands Scotland.
Part of our community investment for our planned offshore wind project Morven, the programme aims to address the need for more trees and green spaces in Scotland’s urban areas.