In the shadow of Charles Darwin, last year the UK Environment Agency (EA) warned: “Adapt or die.” The message remains stark: the government, private sector and civil society – must approach climate change with intention and urgency.

The aftermath of the global United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference (COP27), reminds all stakeholders that the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) provide a framework for how heavy industry can not only adapt so as not to die, but rather actively contribute to the betterment of humanity – both of people and of the planet.

There are fewer industries more maligned in this regard than Oil & Gas, so it’s an apt case study in the power of the SDGs.

Last year, a public-private consortium called The Global Energy Alliance for People and Planet launched at the previous COP26. This consortium aims to unlock 100 billion USD in both public and private financing to:

• Avoid and stop generation of a total of 4 billion tons of carbon emissions;
• Provide one billion underserved people with access to clean and reliable power;
• Create, enable and improve 150 million jobs.

The implications for Oil & Gas businesses are clear – to paraphrase the UK EA: evolve or face extinction.

Oil & Gas Facts and Figures

Oil & Gas still constitute nearly 60 percent of global fuel consumption and is expected to remain the leading global energy source through 2035.

Natural gas supply, increasing at a higher rate than either oil or coal, will overtake coal as the second-most significant fuel source by 2035. Renewables are also fast-growing, expected to achieve 10 percent of the primary global energy supply by 2035. 

To satisfy global energy demand, upstream Oil & Gas will likely invest up to 700 billion USD per year until 2040, with the overwhelming majority in non-petroleum exporting countries. Including investments downstream – in refining and transport – this figure shoots up to nearly 23 trillion USD. 

It seems a paradox: the world needs Oil & Gas, yet Oil & Gas businesses face increasing pressures in order to compete and remain viable. The longevity of the sector is at risk, but those embracing the energy transformation are poised to craft a more sustainable future.  

The SDGs offer a high-level framework through which to do just that. Digitalization offers practical business and operational tools that metabolize these frameworks into reality, transforming forward-thinking Oil & Gas businesses toward a truly sustainable future. 

What are the Sustainable Development Goals?

In 2015, the United Nations General Assembly laid-out seventeen global goals – the Sustainable Development Goals, or SDGs – as part of a universal 2030 agenda striving to tackle some of the world’s most fundamental economic, social and environmental problems.

While (in theory anyway) governments frame their national agendas around Agenda 2030 in order to fulfill their reporting and target commitments, it is the private sector that helps drive the achievement of many of these goals.

This is particularly the case with regard to the broader energy sector and, particularly, to the Oil & Gas industry which has direct and/or indirect impacts on every one of the seventeen SDGs. It’s a sector poised to make a difference in the global landscape through exciting and productive contributions to the SDGs. 

Importance of the Sustainable Development Goals in Oil & Gas

While hydrocarbon industries may be an easy target for sustainability activists, it’s important to note that Oil & Gas holds significant potential to contribute positively to the SDGs from a myriad of social, environmental and economic vantage points. 

The below image maps out at a high-level how Oil & Gas can contribute to each of the seventeen SDGs. 

Some routes through which Oil & Gas can contribute to sustainability initiatives follow: 

• Creating jobs (both direct employment and indirect job creation by way of auxiliary businesses); 
• Increasing energy access to communities, which enables social development and economic activities; 
• Investing in R&D to enable new technologies; 
• Managing operations in a way that revolve around environmental and human rights impacts. 

There is a synergy between the latter two points in particular. For example, investing in digitalization tools serve to modernize the industry, reducing carbon emissions and increasing health and safety to the benefit of sector employees and the environment at large. 

Overall, and despite a different popularized narrative, Oil & Gas holds the potential to foster both social and economic development via job creation and increasing energy access for under-developed communities.

Further, through the advancement and uptake of advanced technologies, like digitalization, Oil & Gas can champion a paperless future, reduce carbon footprint and keep workers safe. 

Creating social capital with the Sustainable Development Goals

Those without obvious reliance on the industry for income or lifestyle may perceive Oil & Gas to be the antithesis of sustainability solely on the basis that it is a hydrocarbon industry. When considered holistically, however, sustainability – as the SDGs demonstrate – can be at the heart of every business decision, of every process and every operation, regardless of sector.  

Oil & Gas holds a wealth of potential towards making truly sustainable contributions that honor economic, environmental, and human-welfare principles. Digitalization is one such sustainable solution. It eliminates the need for paper, streamlining workflows. It keeps people safe. It decarbonizes processes.

Contributing to the SDGs isn’t some ephemeral abstract concept. Contributing to the SDGs literally changes the world. Oil & Gas businesses that are visionary enough to embrace these principles will not only survive, but they will thrive, reaping social capital benefits that make for a truly sustainable business.  

An earlier version of this article first appeared here; check it out to learn more about how digitalization can help even the most heavy industrial sectors adopt the SDGs.