Case #1369.0

Sunk Costs: The Plan to Dump the Brent Spar

Publication Date: January 01, 1997
$3.95
Current Stock:

Educator Access

A review copy of this case is available free of charge to educators and trainers. Please create an account or sign in to gain access to this material.

Permission to Reprint

Each purchase of this product entitles the buyer to one digital file and use. If you intend to distribute, teach, or share this item, you must purchase permission for each individual who will be given access. Learn more about purchasing permission to reprint.

Abstract:
Faced with the need to dispose of an offshore oil storage installation, the Royal Dutch Shell Corporation develops what it believes is a straightforward and sensible plan: to dump the oil platform deep in the ocean, 150 miles off the northwest coast of Scotland. Doing so avoids a number of problems, including potential environmental threats involved with transporting it and otherwise disposing of it. The British government agrees but the unprecedented plan sparks outrage among environmental groups.

Learning Objective:
The case describes the successful advocacy campaign waged by the international environmental group Greenpeace, which turned the Brent Spar plan into a cause celebre, and the efforts of Shell to counter its critics.

Other Details

Case Author:
Samuel Passow
Faculty Lead:
Roger Porter
Pages (incl. exhibits):
18
Setting:
Europe
Language:
English