Environmental, Social and Governance Practices: Our Commitment to a Sustainable Future
As leaders in the natural gas industry, we are committed to developing a sustainable future.
We are proud to share the many ways our members are leading the way in environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives. They are systematically mapping out multiple ESG programs to embody their commitment to a clean energy future with actionable goals such as:
- ambition of a net zero emissions future,
- a diverse workforce,
- and good governance that fosters transparency.
NGSA members report and make disclosures on their ESG initiatives in line with various voluntary frameworks such as the Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures’ framework or the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
Learn More About What Our Member Companies are Doing
Highlights from bp’s 2020 Sustainability Report
- Net zero emission across entire operations on an absolute basis by 2050 or sooner;
- Install methane measurement at all existing major natural gas (& oil) processing sites by 2023, publish the data, then drive a 50% reduction in methane intensity of operations;
- $2 million to WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund;
- Emergency food supplies and survival kits to stranded and migrant workers & other affected communities in India;
- Provided clean, tanked water for Mauritanians without access to clean water;
- 10 million litres of free fuel to emergency vehicles in UK.
Highlights from Chevron’s 2020 corporate sustainability report and 2021 climate change resilience report
- Investing $2 billion by 2028 in carbon-reduction projects;
- Targeted 26% reduction in natural gas carbon intensity
- Committed to $8 billion in low-carbon investments by 2028;
- Investing $750 million by 2028 in investments in renewables and offsets;
- Committed $300 million to the Future Energy Fund II;
- Standardized reporting, life-cycle carbon-footprinted products;
- Increased investment to address racial equity by $15 million;
- 40% of Board is female; $400 million spent on woman- and minority-owned businesses;
- Joined World Bank’s ‘Zero Routine Flaring by 2030’ Initiative;
- Donations of ambulance, ventilators, medical diagnostic equipment and PPEs to support COVID response in Nigeria, worth $1.28 million.
Highlights from ConocoPhillips 2020 Sustainability Report
- As the first U.S.-based oil and gas company to adopt a Paris-aligned climate-risk strategy framework, ConocoPhillips aspires to become a net-zero company for operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. The company has created a global pipeline of GHG emissions reduction projects through a Marginal Abatement Cost Curve (MACC) process and has established a Low Carbon Technologies organization to focus on energy transition opportunities.
- Conducts research on how our operational footprint could impact biodiversity and mitigate potential impacts by using the Mitigation Hierarchy to identify, assess, characterize and manage biodiversity risks.
- Efforts encompass sourcing water and managing produced water. For example, the company recycles treated produced water for use in hydraulic fracturing in the Permian Basin in the U.S. and Montney area in Canada.
- Engages with stakeholders, building shared value for the company and local communities by listening to understand concerns, finding mutually agreeable solutions to mitigate these concerns through our actions and then integrating them into planning and decision-making.
- Effectively engaging, developing, retaining and rewarding our employees is a priority for ConocoPhillips. The company maintains a focus on diversity and inclusion and is committed to enhancing its visibility.
- In 2020, ConocoPhillips led industry by working with Scientific Aviation to develop and test continuous methane monitoring devices at select Lower 48 facilities to further enhance LDAR. We have installed approximately 360 devices covering over 100 locations, with a focus on continuous monitoring of our larger Lower 48 production facilities.
Highlights from Equinor 2020 sustainability report
- Set ambition to reach net-zero emissions by 2050, including emissions from production and use of energy;
- Maintaining ambition of achieving carbon-neutral global operations by 2030;
- Improved quantification and reporting of methane emissions and achieved methane intensity target of .03% in its upstream and midstream business, with a goal of achieving a methane intensity target near zero and eliminating routine flaring;
- Carbon capture and storage projects underway, including the Northern Lights Project and the Northern Endurance Partnership, aimed to develop and test commercial and regulatory framework and pave the way for future CCS projects through cost reductions, learning and economies of scale;
- Joined World Business Council for Sustainable Development’s Call to Action for Business Leadership on Human Rights;
- Evaluation and continued reporting of trends 2016-2020 in diversity and inclusion in leadership positions, earning ratio of women to men and percentage of non-Norwegians in leadership positions.
Highlights from ExxonMobil’s Sustainability Initiatives
- Achieved its 2020 emission reduction goal and plans to reduce operated upstream emissions by 30%, as well as flaring and methane emissions by 40-50% by 2030, compared to 2016 levels
- Expanded the use of aerial LIDAR gas mapping and SOOFIE fixed continuous methane detection systems, with plans to develop next-generation satellite and AI technologies
- Formed a new carbon capture business line in 2021 and will deploy $3 billion by 2025 and advance 20 new carbon capture opportunities.
- Spearheading Houston CCS hub concept with 11 other companies, which can capture 100 million metric tons of CO2 by 2040.
- Pursuing third-party certification of natural gas based on methane performance.
- Plans to start operating its first, large-scale plastic waste advanced recycling facility by year-end 2022.
- Enabled the production of millions of bottle of hand sanitizer by modifying facilities to increase output of isopropyl alcohol, a key sanitizer ingredient.
- More than 1 million meals through contributions to the Houston and Montgomery County food banks.
- $2M contribution of fuel vouchers to frontline workers in Canada
- Support for research, PPE, fuel and medical-grade sanitizer to communities around the world.
Highlights from Shell 2020 Sustainability Report
- Expanded use of drones to enhance existing methane leak detection and repair program.
- Target of becoming net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, in line with society’s progress toward UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change.
- Achieved methane emissions intensity from below 0.01% to 0.6T in 2020, with target of maintaining methane emissions intensity below 0.2% by 2025.
- Delivered seven carbon-neutral LNG cargoes, enough to power nearly 1 million homes for a year.
- Met demand for essential hand and surface cleaning products sparked by COVID-19 and donated 2.5 million litres of the isopropyl alcohol needed to manufacture hand-sanitizing liquids to the Dutch health-care cector.
- Donated $3 million ot the COVID-19 Resilience Fund run by Mercy Corps.
- Collaborated with hospitals, universities and health specialists to provide 3-D printed parts to increase availability of protective masks and ventilators.
- Donated $10 to COVAX, a global program working for equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines. Granted $1.7 million to electricity providers in India, Kenya, Nigeria, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda to support customers in financial difficulty because of the pandemic, which helped 800,000 people.