New emails and documents show Fischer spoke with BP in June 2021 and invited the company’s staff to the museum to discuss the partnership in the coming months.
Two days later, the museum claimed that “there are currently no decisions regarding potential future updates and are unlikely to be relevant for some time.”
Brainstorming
The agenda showed Fischer and BP discussing “different options for BP to provide support beyond spring 2023” after a visit to a museum that highlighted the history of the partnership. It was later planned to “brainstorm” this topic with a team from BP.
An email to BP read: “It was great to see you at BM yesterday and have the opportunity to discuss the future – especially as both our organisations focus more on sustainability. I look forward to continuing the discussion. “
The British Museum also confirmed that it had “no due diligence reports of any kind or BP records”, even though it was apparently seeking sponsorship from the oil major – and thus apparently ignoring the regulator’s fundraising guidance.
The museum’s “Chairman’s Advisory Group” lacks transparency almost entirely, and its membership is dominated by controversial companies, including its oil sponsor BP, as well as fossil banks Citi and Bank of America, mining giant Glencore and an unnamed multinational arms company company.
In 2020, members of the Chairman’s Advisory Panel were invited to brainstorm ideas on “How should the British Museum work with the new government?”. But the museum has heavily redacted all the details and declined to disclose the group’s current membership.
this author
Brendan Montague is the editor of The Ecologist. This article is based on a press release from Culture Unstained. You can check out Culture Unstained’s full survey of BP sponsorship renewals here and the Chairman’s Advisory Board here.
