EXAMPLE 4.1. THE LARGEST ENVIRONMENTAL CRISIS IN UNITED STATES HISTORY: BP AND THE UNITED STATES COAST GUARD RESPOND

On April 20, 2010, at approximately 10:00 PM CDT there was an explosion on the mobile offshore drilling unit Deepwater Horizon located in the Gulf of Mexico. The semisubmersible oil rig was leased and operated by BP Exploration and Production. The explosion caused a fire on the oil rig. Shortly after the initial fire, a second explosion capsized the oil rig. The Deepwater Horizon settled 1500 feet northwest of the well site. The explosion resulted in the deaths of 11 crewmembers; 115 workers were safely rescued. The Deepwater Horizon was severely damaged from the explosions, fire, and resulting collapse into the Gulf of Mexico. Oil began to immediately gush into the gulf. Three weeks after the explosion, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) estimated 210,000 to 2,520,000 gallons of oil was being released into the gulf every day. Several weeks after the crisis began, CNN put a video camera at the bottom of the gulf to show the amount of oil entering the water and televised it 24 hours a day. Ultimately it would take 87 days to cap the oil rig.

The response to the environmental crisis was complex, because of the scope of the crisis, the coordination necessary among stakeholders and regulatory agencies, the difficulties and complexities associated in capping the oil rig, and the global attention that the environmental crisis attracted. The crisis communication was coordinated when the United States Coast Guard, the regulatory authority, and the Bureau of Energy Management formed a partnership with BP, the party responsible for responding to the crisis. The United States Coast Guard and BP were supported by 15 federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of the Interior, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, to name a few. A Unified Area Command (UAC) managed the entire response. The UAC was comprised of four sectors. Each sector reported to the UAC. A critical part of the unified command structure is public information officers (PIOs). PIOs are charged with gathering and disseminating information to stakeholders during a crisis. They respond to media requests, craft messages for stakeholders, and coordinate communication among various agencies in the unified command structure. It is a complex communication job that is essential to an effective response and recovery operation during any type of crisis. Effective crisis communication skills are necessary for any public information officer.

Pyle (2011) interviewed several PIOs from the United States Coast Guard and BP involved in the response and recovery operations during the Deepwater Horizon crisis. The PIOs had keen insight into the communication that took place during the crisis. The PIOs reported that they wished they had developed a unified communication plan or approach before the crisis or very early on during the event. However, the PIOs reported many goals or objectives in their crisis communication. Some PIOs explained that their goal was to get information out quickly, others tried to correct misinformation, while others suggested their goal was transparency. Other PIOs considered staying out in front of the crisis their primary goal.

Although many of the PIOs were brought into the crisis from many parts of the country and the world to support the massive communication needs during the crisis, they reported establishing relationships with stakeholders as critical to their response. They explained that working on functioning and developing collaboration within the ICS was critical to the unified command (Pyle, 2011). PIOs explained that the media, local communities, elected officials, the seafood industry, and frontline responders were all critical stakeholders during the crisis. To engage these stakeholders, they held open houses, creating opportunities for stakeholders to come to the incident command center for tours and to meet with subject matter experts to discuss wide-ranging topics related to the crisis.

A primary stakeholder for the PIOs was the media. The global media attention for this crisis was intense. PIOs suggested that the media was important to their crisis communication, because they were the primary way to get messages out to their stakeholders. However, they also discussed challenges in meeting the constant onslaught of media requests and the often aggressive questioning and demands for access, along with the divergent types of information requests they needed to respond to. They reported doing their absolute best to meet the needs of the media during the crisis. Although not perfect, PIOs provided unprecedented access to the crisis site and to key decision makers in the crisis. They reported being as accessible as possible, transparent, and did their best to correct misinformation in the media. However, the waves of media requests, the dynamic nature of the crisis, and the considerable amount of media made perfection difficult.

The PIOs reported providing as much information as possible to media and stakeholders about the crisis. In cases when they did not know the answer, they explained that they did not know. Some went further by working to try to find out the answer at a later time. However, the amount of questions and requests and changing nature of the crisis complicated the communication process. Several PIOs expressed that they should have countered media accounts that they felt were incorrect or were sensational. A large portion felt that their listening skills were essential to the crisis communication process. They explained that, rather than speculating what information people needed, they tried to listen and respond to the actual informational needs of their stakeholders. At times, this meant providing the information they had on hand at the time rather than speculating in their response. This was particularly true when discussing with response and recovery workers about any concerns they had about their health and safety during the crisis. The PIOs reported doing their best to meet the needs of their stakeholders by having subject matter experts (SME) and health professionals answer questions for stakeholders in a clear and informative manner. This information was mostly conducted face-to-face. Other information about the crisis was most often provided in media releases, interviews, and through the website, http://restorethegulf.gov. The PIOs explained that they wanted to be more proactive in their communication. By being proactive, they could have provided more information about the cleanup process and discussed in more depth the engineering feats that were ultimately developed to cap the oil rig.

United States Coast Guard fire boats battle fire on Deepwater Horizon oil rig

Source: U.S. Coast Guard photo.

Summary

The BP oil spill was the largest response and recovery operation to an environmental disaster in United States history. The United States Coast Guard and BP coordinated the crisis communication for the event. This unusual and unprecedented relationship created a unique response and recovery operation that necessitated effective communication and coordination throughout the crisis. The PIOs who responded to the crisis experienced high demands for information, an often hostile and demanding communication context, and answers that were highly scientific and uncertain. The PIOs reported high levels of exhaustion during the crisis and expressed that future PIOs should monitor their rest and stress levels when engaging in crisis communication over an extended period of time.

You Make the Call

After examining this case, it is time to determine how the PIOs involved in the BP oil spill communicated in the wake of the plant fire. First, take a moment to refresh in your mind the lessons established on effective crisis communication in Chapter 3. Second, note that these lessons serve as touchstones and discussion points for what we believe are key aspects of any crisis response. As you answer the questions that follow, consider whether the PIOs were effective or ineffective in their crisis communication. We have rephrased the lessons into questions so that you are better able to address the key issues in the case.

CHAPTER 4 LESSONS

Lesson 1: Determine your goals for crisis communication.

What were the reported primary goals for PIOs in their crisis communication?

Lesson 2: Before a crisis, develop true equal partnerships with organizations and groups that are important to the organization.

Had the PIOs developed partnerships with stakeholders prior to or during the crisis?

Lesson 3: Acknowledge your stakeholders, including the media, as partners when managing a crisis.

Did the PIOs acknowledge stakeholders as partners in managing the crisis?

Lesson 4: Organizations need to develop strong, positive primary and secondary stakeholder relationships.

Did the PIOs work toward positive relationships with primary and secondary stakeholders during the oil spill?

Lesson 5: Effective crisis communication involves listening to your stakeholders.

Did the PIOs listen to or understand the needs of their stakeholders?

Lesson 6: Communicate early about the crisis, acknowledge uncertainty, and assure the public that you will maintain contact with them about current and future risk.

Did the PIOs communicate regularly with stakeholders about the crisis?

Lesson 7: Avoid certain or absolute answers to the public and media until sufficient information is available.

Did the PIOs communicate certain or absolute answers about the crisis?

Lesson 8: Do not overreassure stakeholders about the impact the crisis will have on them.

Did the PIOs overreassure stakeholders about the impact of the crisis?

Lesson 9: The public needs useful and practical statements of self-efficacy during a crisis.

Did the PIOs provide statements of self-efficacy following the crisis?

Lesson 10: Effective crisis communicators acknowledge that positive factors can arise from organizational crises.

Did the PIOs acknowledge positive factors that resulted during the crisis?

Chapter 7 Lessons

Lessons on Effective Crisis Leadership

Lesson 1: Effective leadership is critical to overcoming a crisis.

Lesson 2: Leaders should be visible during a crisis.

Lesson 3: Leaders should work to develop a positive company reputation during normal times to build a reservoir of goodwill.

Lesson 4: Leaders should be open and honest following a crisis.

Lesson 5: Leaders who manage crises successfully may create opportunities for renewal.

Lesson 6: Leaders should cooperate with stakeholders during a crisis and should work to build consensus.

Lesson 7: Poor leadership, including denials, cover-ups, or lack of response, can make a crisis much worse.

Lesson 8: Leaders must adapt their leadership styles and contingencies during crises.

Lesson 9: A virtuous response to a crisis by the organization’s leaders may be the most effective in generating support and renewal.

Lesson 10: Leaders have specific communication obligations for managing and learning from crises.

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