Ethical Responsibility with Oil Companies
Lisa Dauwen
National American University

Abstract
There are processes that oil companies need to go through to make sure that they are operating ethically. They include protecting the environment, researching alternative sustainable energies, and making sure that they are allowing for economic growth. This paper will look at 3 oil companies that are familiar to the United States. The paper will also look at the recent Gulf of Mexico oil spill and look at any ethical concerns. It will discuss how an oil company can follow corporate social responsibility (CSR) tools to lessen their environmental footprint.

Ethical Responsibility with Oil Companies
All companies in the world have the responsibility to operate in a manner that follows the laws of the government. All of these companies also have a social responsibility to follow ethical laws. Along with all the other types of companies, oil companies have the social responsibilities to protect the environment, to research sustainable energies, to safely explore and produce in new areas, and they also have responsibility of fostering economic growth. It is important for oil companies, perhaps more important than other companies, to hold up to these social responsibilities because if they don’t find new ways to produce energy, future generations could run out.
There has been much talk in the last few months regarding oil companies and if they are being ethical when making decisions. The last big black eye for the companies, BP in particular, is the disastrous environmental oil spill in the gulf. Since the beginning of the spill, the rumors have been swarming regarding the decisions that have been made prior to oil spill. Did they overlook safety procedures? Did they ignore the warnings suggesting that disaster was looming? Could they have stopped the oil spill long