The Last Ditch by Tom Paine

Link: BBC NEWS | UK | Drivers tell of ‘contaminated’ fuel fury.

This is an interesting story. Early indications suggest that the fuel in question originates from Greenergy, an independent oil company specialising in less environmentally-unfriendly fuels.  Its "mission statement," in typical jargon, is:

To deliver financial and environmental solutions to our customers through innovation and the development and management of secure, sustainable fuel supply chains.

The company ships 275 trucks of fuel a day (one full oil tanker). If an entire consignment was defective (or made defective by the company’s "green" additives), then many cars will have been damaged.

While every company should be considering the environmental impact of its products, I worry about a company which focuses more on "green" issues than quality.  The "mission statement" is notable for the absence of any reference to quality and it should be remembered that the "customers" mentioned are the supermarkets and independent petrol stations, not the motorists running about, all unknowing, with "innovative"  additives in their fuel. Consider also the following quote from their website which, in the current context, is rather interesting:

Our specifications are at the leading edge of technology, driving forward the debate in Europe and the UK on the relationship between fuel quality [my emphasis] and emissions.

We must wait and see who, if anyone, is to blame for this story. Greenergy may be entirely innocent and I don’t mean to suggest otherwise. My only comment for now is that customers should drive businesses, not political posturing or "debates."