Forbes.com has recently published a list of the world´s most sustainable companies. Guess who ended up in the first place? Statoil! I´m a little surprised because Statoil is a Norwegian oil company. However, I´m not so surprised because I´ve been lucky enough to visit Statoil´s headquarters in Stavanger. I´ve seen some of the focus areas they lead aiming to improve the environment impact of the company and oil industry as a whole.I came to realize that oil companies aren´t necessarily as black and white as people might think. After attending a meeting with two fantastic personalities in Statoil headquarters, I got a brief insight in the possibilities they get for working with environment related project. Working in the extractive industries can help understanding and improving the environmental and socio-economic impacts of developing natural resources.
In short: the energy sector will be dominated by hydrocarbons, even in decades to come with transition to cleaner energy. We need the immense competence and experience from people within engineering, finance and corporate strategy to be able to cope with comprehensive global challenges.
The human resources now working in the oil sector
will be part of the great effort of changing the course of the future. Even more so, some are already role models and lead the way into a more sustainable future. Both on a personal level like some of the wonderful people I met in Stavanger, and in larger scales like companies and whole industries, working hard to improve the environmental impact of energy production.
That being said, I think this attitude should be the rule, not the exception! Massive challenges are linked with production of fossil fuels, I suppose there´s no need to point at the emissions of greenhouse gases. The point is to face reality, accept where the world is headed and DO something to regain balance. We´re on the way already, but need to take some giant leaps to reach the final target.
Read more about Forbes.com´s rating here.
