Oil & Gas: A Streamlined Approach to ESG
In today’s business climate, oil and gas corporations must have ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) strategies in place to satisfy a number of consumer and investor criteria that ranges from climate to social change.
It’s clear that the need for energy continues to rise as populations across the globe grow. But major financial institutions like BlackRock have already released statements noting that investors are demanding, “sufficient progress on sustainability-related disclosures and the business practices and plans underlying them.” Stakeholders are increasingly inclined to put their money where their mouths are, and to vote with their dollars by betting on businesses that create long-term, sustainable value for society.
Thus, it’s critical for oil and gas companies to be proactive and modernize their operations before federal policies enforce change. While very few executives lean willingly into change because of the short-term disruption to operations, those who wait for federal enforcement will hurt their own bottom lines by demonstrating a lack of motivation and concern for environmental impact and social wellbeing.
But change doesn’t have to be painful for refinery operations. It can begin with small steps like implementing modern, climate-conscious technology as part of the refining processes to reduce ESG risk without slowing down operations.
ESG Is Not A Profit Killer — When Done Correctly, It’s An Opportunity
This year, the International Energy Agency increased its estimates for global oil demand by 3.3 million barrels a day for 2022. It’s clear that the need for energy is not going anywhere. But while the oil industry is actively seeking energy alternatives, implementing the right technology now can help corporations demonstrate their commitment to reducing environmental impact and protecting the health and safety of the population.
In 2021, green, social and sustainability bonds reached over $700 billion in issuances, which is almost double the issuances of 2019. This is a sign that there is significant capital for and interest in companies that are prioritizing ESG measures. And that’s to say nothing about brand image and customer loyalty. According to a study, 88% of customers report that they will have more loyalty to a company that prioritizes ESG.
Climate-related weather disasters pose significant economic threats and are expected to cost businesses more than a trillion in damages in coming years, which builds on the importance of actively adopting new technology that can help prevent and mitigate environmental damage.
Change of any kind takes work. It may seem like adopting ESG practices is an almost impossible feat. Measuring and reporting on ESG compliance also adds another layer of complication. However, companies like Iron Creek Group offer refineries a streamlined way to reduce ESG risk while guiding refiners towards net zero waste streams.
Their patented, sustainable technology addresses a number of operational deficits, helping refiners to reduce carbon emissions, eliminate contingent liability and recover and convert waste to keep it out of landfills. Current practices, such as land farming tank waste, have lasting impacts on the environment and put human health and safety at risk.
Iron Creek’s alternative to land farming treats tank sludge by recovering usable material and pumping it back into production while removing organic contaminants from the remaining waste. Then, it can safely be recycled and used in concrete manufacturing or metals reclamation. The process remediates waste in such a way that it removes long-term liability and allows operations managers to delist it from their records. The remediation technology is not only space efficient, but it also makes operations much more efficient by reducing the layers of paperwork, reporting, and records keeping.
Once land farming practices have sundowned, oil companies have opportunities to remediate the contaminated land, restoring the health of the soil so it can be safely reused. The restored brownfield area creates a new space for revenue-generating activities, such as building new centers for alternative fuel research.
Two Solutions to Streamline the Adoption of ESG Practices
Here is an overview of the two cutting-edge solutions that are best suited to help refineries adopt ESG criteria while opening new avenues of improving operational processes:
Enhanced Thermal Conduction technology, or ETC, is a patented, award-winning technology that specializes in soil remediation.
Reduces carbon emissions
Eliminates hydrocarbon and organic waste onsite
Powered by a range of fuels, including the contaminants in the very soil it cleans
Provides managers predictable remedial endpoints and costs
ETC technology is a safe and static operation, requiring little oversight
Soils meet and exceed stringent environmental and human safety standards
ETC technology is quiet and compact but scaleable
Tech Zero is a patented technology solution that recycles tank process waste and spent catalysts through zero oxygen conduction.
One-step, streamlined secondary manufacturing process
Results in higher-grade fuel that can be pumped back into production
Also produces recycled metals or solids that can be an additional revenue stream
Operates on fixed timelines and predictable budgets
Boosts productivity by speeding up the turnaround time
Also recycles absorbents and oil booms
Reduces the carbon footprint associated with waste management
Implementing this technology is not difficult, time-consuming, or unnecessarily expensive. Iron Creek’s team has spent decades in the industry supporting operation managers and environmental consultants. Their approach makes it easy for refiners to incorporate this patented technology into existing processes in a streamlined, sustainable, and cost-effective way, while reducing the impact of change at an organizational level.
As we are seeing, ESG is no longer the exception, it’s the expectation. And, while the oil and gas industry isn’t going anywhere anytime soon, neither are new legislative initiatives and expectations from investors and stakeholders. These parties will continue to vote with their dollars as a way to promote those businesses that are invested in making climate-conscious and ethical change with long-term value.
About Iron Creek Group
Serving North America, Iron Creek Group specializes in developing innovative, nimble technology that solves complex environmental issues. Learn how they’re leveraging technology to challenge the existing remediation paradigm by visiting, https://www.ironcreekgroup.com
For questions and further information, please email Ken Bell: ken@ironcreekgroup.com.