Over a year and a half after the Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill, which released nearly five million barrels of crude oil and 200,000 metric tons of methane gas into the Gulf, the costs of recovery continue to mount. President Obama's Gulf Coast Task Force, charged with developing ecosystem restoration plans for the Gulf, has recently suggested that the billions of dollars in fines that BP will face be utilized for restoration. Because current federal law requires that the fines be placed in an oil spill liability trust fund with limited capacity to do restoration, legislation is being considered that would allow 80% of the fines to be allocated towards restoration - both of the ecosystems and the economies affected most.

When it comes to oil spills, organizations must address two important areas: The cleanup process and business considerations. From a business perspective, environmental accidents can have significant financial ramifications, as well as a negative effect on brand reputation. Crisis management and communications planning must be done before an oil spill occurs. 

 
There are a variety of methods for oil spill cleanup. Mechanical containment is done through the use of booms, skimmers, and sorbents. The goal of mechanical containment is to isolate, remove, and store the spilled oil. Chemical and biological cleanup methods are often used together with mechanical cleanup techniques. Chemical response methods include dispersing agents and gelling agents. Organisms such as bacteria, fungi, or yeast can break down oil and obtain energy and nutrients, using a process called biodegradation. This natural process can be slow, sometimes taking several years. Bioremediation can be used to speed up the biodegradation process. Bioremediation is accomplished by adding fertilizers or organisms to an oil spill site. In situ burning describes the controlled burn of oil that is floating in water or in a wetlands area. Physical cleanup methods are often used to clean shorelines after an oil spill. These techniques may include wiping rocks and the ground with sorbents, pressure washing, and bulldozing. 

From a brand equity perspective, the reputational damage caused by an oil spill can be a major problem. A report published in 2005 by the Economist Intelligence Unit suggested that reputation risk is the greatest risk facing global companies today. A good way to prepare for potential environmental accidents is through crisis management and communication planning. A 2005 survey by the American Management Association revealed that more than half of US businesses (60 percent) already have crisis management plans in place. The 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico illustrates how important preparing for environmental crises is. Although BP had created an emergency response plan, reviewers believe that the company did not anticipate an oil spill of the magnitude of Deepwater Horizon. This oil spill has reduced BP's stock market value by $32 billion. After the company pays for lawsuits, fines, clean up, and reputation repair, the disaster will likely end up costing billions of dollars.