What will oil companies do once all of it is gone?

Portugal’s leading oil and gas provider isn’t waiting around to find out. Galp Energia has recently launched an online service to help residents arrange carpools more efficiently. While not the first to develop such a service, the direct support from an oil supplier is, as the article puts it, unexpected. Whether it is a publicity stunt or a genuine corporate interest in promoting sustainable practices is irrelevant- the fact that Galp is making strides is alright in my book.

In high school I took Advanced Placement Environmental Science with Mike Town, a truely extraordinary teacher with a knack for getting students excited and interested in sustainable practices. I remember him mentioning the sustainable practices of BP, such as their investment in solar technology, and I thought to myself “wow, this company really cares”. After taking a few marketing classes, I have learned to be more skeptical of this “social/environmental cause marketing”, but at the end of the day, does the motive matter if the company is still doing it?

In a perfect world, all companies would be built on a social or environmental cause, rather than simply “maximizing shareholder value. Unfortunately, most firms operate under the concept of profit maximization, and it may be simply too much to ask for them to adopt a social cause out of simple goodwill.

The corporations employing social causes, environmental practices, and sustainable technologies that actually help to increase their profit line will be the ones that ultimately succeed.