Ukraine response
bp is responding to the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Ukraine and neighbouring countries with teams working around the clock to help to support the people affected by the conflict. Here are a few of the actions we're taking
bp has made a $20 million contribution to the relief efforts, including:
- $10 million in donations to humanitarian organizations to support those affected by the conflict.
- $5 million in food and fuel cards to be distributed at the Polish border and in the country by our team there – working with our NGO partners.
- $5 million of support across Poland, Hungary and Romania – working with local aid organizations to help keep people safe.
- Matched-funding by our charitable organization, the bp Foundation, will be available to bp staff, with more details to follow soon.
- Paid time off for our colleagues in Poland and Hungary as they volunteer to support refugees – and we’re looking at how we can expand that further.
In addition:
- We are working with our businesses across Europe to see if we can offer employment opportunities to Ukrainian refugees.
- In the UK, bp has signed up to the Government’s ‘Jobs for Ukraine Pledge’, so that those displaced from Ukraine can be supported into the job market.
Update
bp donates to Ukraine mine clearance
The $2 million donation to mine clearance charity the HALO Trust is part of bp's previously announced $20 million towards humanitarian aid.
The donation will be used to buy key assets for national staff – a fleet of 21 vehicles and 50 mine detectors as well as to cover initial fuel, lubricants, and maintenance costs.
The fleet will immediately support a variety of humanitarian interventions, such as:
- Distributing essential supplies and medical equipment, and transferring casualties to hospital.
- Transporting operational staff to deliver risk education.
- Warning people of the dangers of explosive ordnance and providing guidance on staying safe.
As soon as conditions allow, HALO will deploy the fleet and detectors for survey and clearance of dangerous explosives.
The donation will also help to provide safe accommodation for HALO’s local staff, many of whom have fled their homes following bombardment.
bp donates to UK fire service ‘mega-convoy’
bp has donated £150,000 to the Eastern Alliance for Safe and Sustainable Transport (EASST) and FIRE AID in support of the crisis in Ukraine.
bp’s donation has supported the fuel costs for a large UK fire service convoy – made up of 22 vehicles and more than 5,000 items of kit and equipment – that has arrived in Ukraine. The fire service made the 1,000-mile journey through Europe to the Polish border to support firefighters and emergency services in Ukraine and was coordinated by the charity FIRE AID and International Development (FIRE AID), the National Fire Chiefs Council (NFCC), and the fire industry through the Fire Industry Association.
FIRE AID project manager Claire Hoyland says: “We’re calling this a mega-convoy as it is not only mega in size, but it has been truly a monumental effort from all involved. Within two weeks, we have put together the biggest-ever donation of aid from UK Fire and Rescue services.”
A large part of the donation is being used to help Nova Poshta, a private Ukrainian postal courier that is currently playing a pivotal role in delivering humanitarian aid to staging posts along the border of Ukraine. Desperately short on fuel, Nova Poshta is now receiving supplies from the UK charity EASST through bp’s donation, which will support at least 1,000 vehicle trips to collect supplies from bordering nations.
Donating fuel and food cards in Poland
Our team in Poland has begun distributing $5 million in food and fuel cards, so far donating 1,500 to organizations supporting refugees arriving in the country from Ukraine.
The cards can be used at any of bp’s 570 shops and are getting into the hands of those who need them most through NGOs Polish Humanitarian Action (PAH) and The Spring Association. These organizations are supporting those fleeing the conflict with food and warm clothing as well as medical, financial and psychological support.
Fuelling evacuation flights
Helping the helpers reach those in need
Germany’s bp Aral team has donated fuel cards worth €225,000 to humanitarian organizations delivering relief to Ukraine and transporting refugees out of the country.
“I’m proud of the Aral team for launching this campaign so quickly. I hope that we can at least take one concern off the minds of the many helpers who are on their way to Ukraine,” says Aral CEO Patrick Wendeler.
The campaign got under way on 8 March.
Employees step up to support refugees
bp employees are taking paid time off to volunteer to support the humanitarian efforts.
In Poland, our country headquarters are close to the busy Kraków station, where many refugees are arriving. People & culture advisor Magdalena was one of the many who have been going to the station to meet arriving refugees, offering hungry women and children sandwiches made by colleagues at the nearby office. “Every pair of hands is needed right now,” she says.
Anna is combining her work as legal counsel for C&P in Poland with helping at a 24/7 reception centre for refugees in a converted theatre in Kraków. The centre is run by a local charity that is helping around 1,500 people a day to access housing, transportation, translation services and legal aid. “We can see refugees everywhere around us,” she says. “These are very often people in desperate need for help on many levels.
Over in Hungary, bp’s head of business process and intelligent automation, Alex, has spoken of his experience of welcoming a Ukrainian mother and son into his home in Budapest.
Alex and his wife had heard about those fleeing the conflict and felt compelled to help, offering shelter to Kateryna and eight-year-old Tim, who had made the long trek from Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine to Budapest, a distance of more than 1,600 kilometres.
It’s an act of kindness that will be remembered long after the dust of this conflict has settled. “Tim said that when he grows up, he’s going to give us everything we want,” says Alex. “Now, I don’t want for anything – just for him to be happy. And if you can make an impact for just one person, then it’s all worthwhile.
“I don’t see anything unusual in helping others,” says Alex. “It’s really about putting yourself in other people’s shoes.”
