Policies introduced by the Office of the Mayor in Relation to the Environment

The Mayor of London has wide powers ranging from defining the programs which the employees of the GLA are going to be working on, to making policies which relate to the environment of the city of London. In addition, the Mayor has the power over those programs which have been included in the budget, and in this capacity, he can be considered the most influential person when it comes to the day to day activities of the GLA. The vision of the Mayor is extremely valuable, and it has been suggested by some that if all of his visions for the city are put in place, then London will, within a few years, become the largest city in the world. With these visions in mind, policies have been suggested, and some of them have already been put in place in order to achieve them. These policies focus mainly on the increase of biodiversity, how to deal with the changing climate, the improvement of the quality of air, and the improvement of the mechanisms used to dispose waste within the city. The policies aimed at combating climate change as well as those dealing with energy all aim at the reduction of the contribution the city is making to the problem of global warming.

For the success of these policies, there would be a requirement for the use of those technologies that had low carbon emission levels. These technologies would include the use of renewable energy sources such as wind and solar energy, which have no emissions at all. The Mayor set out to address the issue of fuel shortages within the city, which were becoming more problematic. Some proposals were brought forward which suggested ways that would ensure that London would significantly reduce its contribution to global warming. These proposals included the total elimination of carbon emissions not only in all public places, but also in residential buildings. The addressing of the proposals made was to be done in an ascending order, with the most prominent ones being given priority over the others. The implementation of these proposals was to be done in the following order: the reduction of the amount of energy being used, increasing the efficiency in the supply of energy so that none of it is wasted, and lastly, the encouragement of the use of green energy (Keirstead, 2010, 6).

In relation to the use of green energy, the Mayor proposed policies which would make use of green transport in London the norm. The diverse transport network in London could be thoroughly transformed so that there would be zero emission rates because of the use of green energy. Once implemented, the policies would ensure that those modes of transport that emitted little or no carbon to the atmosphere would be the preferred modes. The modes of transport proposed in these policies included the use of hybrid and electric vehicles, and hydrogen buses. Moreover, it was proposed that instead of using private means of transport, people in the city should be encouraged to use public transport, as well as cycling and walking. This would ensure that the large numbers of vehicles, which emit carbon, were removed from use, hence a cleaner environment and less contribution to global warming.

Among the initiatives which the Mayor of London wanted put in place, was the proper management of the waste found in the city. This initiative would not only improve the quality of life of the people in the city, but it would also set London on the right path towards becoming a green city, with no pollution of the environment. Programs were embarked on to ensure that there was a reduction of pollution levels and these were to be done through the recycling of waste materials, the reduction of the levels of rubbish, and most of all, the efficient use of energy. Once these policies were implemented to the fullest, then London would not only have low levels of carbon emissions to the atmosphere, they would also help in the efficient use of the resources available, contributing in saving money which could be used in other significant projects.

One of the policies that were to be considered by the Mayor was the restoration of the inner part of the city (East London). This was to ensure that a living and working environment was provided for those people who were involved in that area. It would help the people of London a vast deal because it would ensure that they lived in a clean environment which could be sustained in that state. The boroughs, in this part of London, were provided funding and resources which were to be used in their transformation into clean environments. The Mayor also focused on the improvement of the available public spaces, as well as the creation of new ones, and an initiative was put in place to make sure that this was made possible. Policies were to be put in place to ensure that an economy, based on low carbon initiatives, was created so that jobs could be created for the people of London. This would be of immense benefit for Londoners, who would be able to gain, through living in a clean environment as well as doing business which was environmentally friendly. Areas were to be set aside where people, who were making investments in businesses involving low carbon emissions, would be given preference over all the others.

Powers and responsibilities of the Greater London Authority and the Mayor

London is one of the largest cities in the world, and as such, the welfare of those within it should be protected. This responsibility has been given to the Greater London Authority, whose duty is to ensure that everything in the city functions efficiently for the benefit of the people of London. The chairman of the Greater London Authority (GLA) is the Mayor of London, and under his leadership, the GLA has the responsibility of making sure that the various divisions of the local authorities within its jurisdiction are well coordinated. The powers over the local authorities of Greater London can be considered to be similar, or equal, to those given to the City of London Corporation, and also the same as those of the local authorities in the boroughs of London. The Mayor of London has the power to create or influence policies and strategies which deal directly with the improvement of the services within the entire city (Tewdwr-Jones, 2011, 57).

This power can be said to carry five principal responsibilities which the Mayor has to carry out as part of his duties. The first of these is that he has to come up with strategies aimed at ensuring that the entire city is moving in the right direction and that these strategies have been implemented correctly. The second responsibility, which he has, is to look at all the needs of the city within a given financial year, and formulating a budget for these needs, which he must present to the Assembly where it will further be discussed. The third responsibility of the mayor is to be the ambassador of the city, not only within the country, but also abroad, and as such, he must present the best image of the city. As the ambassador of the city, he must ensure that London is presented as a city full of diversity as well as welcoming to all those who wish to invest within it. His fourth responsibility is to coordinate with the other bodies in the GLA to ensure that all the strategies, which have been proposed for the city, are put in place so that the city is able to run smoothly. The final prime responsibility of the Mayor of London is to make appointments to those bodies which he chairs as well as to other bodies, which function for the good of London.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Companies in the oil and gas sector have in the recent past increasingly come to be expected to provide assistance in the addressing of the most pressing problems in the world and these problems have included climate change, fighting poverty and the prevalence of HIV. The societies of both the developing and the developed world are some of the biggest stakeholders in the oil and gas industry because in one way or the other, it affects their lives. These are the people who have come to have more expectations from the companies within this industry to assume responsibilities to the public (Ekatah, 249). It is believed that these expectations will continue to increase in the future as the oil and gas companies continue to expand their activities all over the globe.

Companies from the oil and gas industry have come to adopt the theory of corporate social responsibility which is an approach they use when they are addressing the impact which their company activities have on the societies and environment in which they are involved. These companies have done their best to ensure that the communities which are affected by their activities have been well compensated and that their standards of living are even higher than they were before (Idemudia, 91). In the developed countries, in this case the United States, stakeholder meetings are very common especially in oil producing states such as Texas. These stakeholder meetings can be attended by anyone and they often address how the oil industry is affecting people as well as having dialogue and exchanges in matters concerning all stakeholders (Frynas, 163).

The stakeholder management theory states that there are other people who should be consulted when dealing with the affairs of a company other than its shareholders or owners. These people are those whose everyday lives are affected by the activities of the company or are concerned about these activities. These other people or parties include governmental organizations, trade unions, buyers and suppliers of products, the societies involved as well as the employees of the company involved. In the developed countries, the stakeholders in the oil and gas industry have a great say in its activities and this is mainly because of the freedom of speech which is guaranteed to them by their governments. Moreover, the oil and gas industry has to listen to these groups because of the powerful influence which they have in the political arena.

In the developing countries, however, and in this case Africa, there is a tendency by the oil and gas industry not to involve any stakeholders in their major decision making process. These companies are instead only accountable to their shareholders because the other groups are not sufficiently well developed to have any major influence on the oil and gas sector (Okoye, 364). The only major stakeholder in the oil and gas industry in Africa is the government and it rarely opposes any decision made by this industry, however detrimental to its people and the country’s environment, because of the need for investment so that it can have revenue.