bp and RNLI share life-saving advice to millions in UK this summer

Ahead of the August bank holiday, bp and the RNLI have announced a new partnership that has focused on bringing the RNLI’s lifesaving ‘Float to Live’ advice to millions of people across the UK this summer, using bp’s retail network to reach customers at a critical time for water safety.

Throughout July and August, RNLI’s ‘Float to Live’ safety messaging has appeared on screens at over 300 bp retail sites across the UK, reaching millions of customers each month. The activity comes as the RNLI estimates almost 50 million people will visit the UK coast at least once over the summer.

The activity builds on bp’s more than 50-year relationship with the RNLI, which includes a donation in 1976 towards a then-state-of-the-art RNLI Arun class lifeboat in Aberdeen.

Louise Kingham, head of country, UK at bp said: “Our retail network reaches millions of customers, giving us an opportunity to share advice that can make a real difference. By partnering with the RNLI this summer, we are helping to put clear, practical water safety guidance in front of customers at the right time, as more people travel to the coast and open water. It’s a natural extension of our long-standing relationship with the RNLI and our wider commitment to supporting communities across the UK.”

Peter Sparkes, chief executive of the RNLI said: “This new partnership with bp is helping to spread our Float to Live advice even further this summer, as people continue to head to the coast. A large number of accidental drownings tragically take place in August when beaches and inland waterways are at their busiest. We are extremely grateful that this new partnership is allowing us to reach millions of people across bp’s retail network at a critical time for water safety. This summer has already seen some tragic drowning incidents and the RNLI remains committed to sharing the Float to Live message far and wide.”

The ‘Float to Live’ campaign activity forms part of a wider partnership between bp and the RNLI, focused on sharing water safety advice and supporting the RNLI’s operational innovation and sustainability commitments. This includes bp providing HVO fuel (a renewable diesel alternative) to the RNLI’s fuel storage depot in Poole, bp pulse charge cards being provided free of charge to the RNLI’s EV fleet vehicles, and fuel research supporting the RNLI.

The guidance shared at bp retail sites encourages anyone who finds themselves in trouble in the water to:

• Tilt your head back, submerging your ears.
• Relax and control your breathing.
• Move your hands and legs to help you stay afloat.
• Remember that your legs may sink – that’s OK, everyone floats differently.
• Practice finding your float in a supervised location.

With the August bank holiday approaching, data from the National Water Safety Forum (NWSF) shows that last year, 202 people died from accidental drowning and that August was the month with the highest number of accidental water-related fatalities in the UK, with hot weather often correlating with a rise in accidental drownings.

With this new partnership with bp, millions of people have seen the RNLI’s Float to Live water safety advice across July and August, when accidental drowning deaths are most likely to take place. As already seen this summer, tragically, people are still losing their lives to drowning. Reaching people with water safety advice is an urgent priority and the RNLI and bp are committed to sharing the Float to Live message far and wide.