• by Marc Stoiber , June 30, 2010

A week ago, reporters arrived at my office, looking for an opinion on a new Greenpeace contest to redesign BP's "Beyond Petroleum" logo to something "more suitable for their dirty business."

The reporters pointed me to a Flickr site with hundreds of contest entries -- some amateurish, others clearly done by professional art directors and graphic designers.

What a profound waste of time and energy.

My dismay wasn't rooted in the lack of originality -- there were some nice designs. The problem lay in a flawed brief.

Demonizing BP today is as useful as criticizing Nero's violin skills while Rome burned. It may make you feel superior and provide a self-righteous snicker. But at best, it's a superficial, unproductive pleasure. At worst, it squanders creative energy that could be put to use creating positive action.

We are teetering at the edge of one of the most significant tipping points on the road to sustainability. Not only is BP's spill a brutally public disaster, but it coincides with a movement to clean energy that is getting public attention, government stimulus funds and venture capital. Meanwhile, companies like Wal-Mart and Nike are demonstrating sustainability and profit do go hand in hand. And politicians -- especially at the municipal level -- are starting to come out openly in favor of green.

So will the BP disaster be a catalyst that tips us toward unprecedented green innovation? That depends on both the spill, and our reaction to it.

Will it be bad enough to do good?

It may sound like a cruel joke, but the longer the BP spill lasts, the more likely it will lead to real change.

Short, horrific accidents shock and stun us. But they don't tend to prod us out of our complacency. All too often, they become yesterday's news instead a force for change.

The BP spill, on the other hand, has unfolded over months. And every day, there are shocking new revelations that keep it in the headlines.

As a result, we've seen President Obama not only demand big penalties and reparations, but also tie the spill to the need for clean energy. If it takes several more months to bring the spill under control, the clean energy talk might actually manifest itself in real initiatives, and begin to create positive change -- providing the sort of tangible evidence people need in order to believe a clean alternative to oil exists.

Where are the innovations?

Where could creative energy be directed to create positive action in the wake of the spill? I believe there is opportunity in two areas: innovation in the states hurt by the spill, and innovation at BP.

1. Greening the Gulf

According to Forbes, Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama are 46th, 47th and 48th in "green state" rankings -- nearly dead last. As the article accompanying the rankings reports, "All suffer from a mix of toxic waste, lots of pollution and consumption, and no clear plans to do anything about it." Could the oil spill, and the reparations being paid, provide a catalyst to jump-start sustainability in these states? There is precedent for this sort of "phoenix from the ashes" transformation. When the Berlin Wall came down, West Germany discovered the manufacturing and business infrastructure in the East was so decrepit that much of it couldn't be saved. As a result, massive rebuilding projects were initiated. Today, East German production facilities rival those in the West.

If the Gulf states use stimulus money to engineer a green version of East Germany's transformation, perhaps it would incentivize companies looking for green facilities and infrastructure to move in. Imagine locating a green energy research and development hub in Louisiana.

2. Creating a better BP

As Brandchannel noted, it's not certain that the BP brand will survive the spill. If it does, perhaps the greatest apology to North America it could offer would be to honor its original promise of pushing "Beyond Petroleum."

Currently, the vast majority of BP's revenue is derived from fossil fuels, with only a token amount coming from clean energy. Could that imbalance be amended, with oil revenues being pumped into clean energy ventures?

Or could BP partner with clean energy tycoons like T. Boone Pickens, himself an ex-oilman who is now the most public supporter of wind power for the U.S.?

There is clearly a need for a radical transformation if the oil giant is to survive. There is consumer demand for clean energy. Harness enough brains, and we may have a shot at filling an innovation pipeline with ideas that could transform the economy.

A better use for our creativity than designing spoof logos, to be certain.