! 1 Oil Companies and Sustainability: More than Just an Image?

This paper analyzes whether the three largest oil companies (BP, ExxonMobil, and Royal Dutch Shell) are backing up their increasingly “green ” rhetoric by moving their businesses in a direction that promotes sustainability. Word count analysis from company annual reports, operational data, lobbying expenditures, and public company statements are used to explain what each company is saying and doing. The analysis suggests that despite minor differences in what each company says and does, which may be a result of different historical origins and the necessity to create different brands in a competitive industry, each company appears remarkably similar. To understand how oil companies can come to resemble one another, I consider external pressures such as government regulations, media coverage, advocacy campaigns, participation in trade associations, and uncertainty surrounding the role of new technologies. Particular attention is paid to how a singular disaster in one company can impact the entire industry. The conclusions address whether the observed behavior of the companies will result in more sustainable oil companies in the future, and whether we should expect them to act more green given the nature of their operations and constraints of the industry