All Things Sustainable (formerly ESG Insider)

How oil major ExxonMobil is approaching the energy transition

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Mar 21, 2025

Matt Kolesar, ExxonMobil's chief environmental scientist, dives into the company's sustainability strategy and energy transition. He discusses the urgent need for investments in low-carbon technologies and the importance of decarbonization targets. Kolesar sheds light on innovative projects, like a Texas initiative for low-carbon hydrogen production and a pioneering lithium extraction plant in Arkansas. He also shares optimistic insights from CERAWeek, emphasizing science-based strategies and the evolving role of fossil fuel companies in a sustainable future.

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INSIGHT

ExxonMobil's Sustainability Approach

ExxonMobil prioritizes meeting global energy demand while minimizing environmental impact.
They aim to be the most responsible operator across all sustainability aspects, including climate, water, land use, and community engagement.

INSIGHT

Decarbonization Targets

ExxonMobil has set decarbonization targets for Scope 1 and 2 emissions, aiming for net zero by 2050.
These targets include reducing methane and flaring by 60-70% by 2030, focusing on operational emissions.

INSIGHT

Scope 3 Emissions and Product Intensity

ExxonMobil hasn't set Scope 3 targets, advocating for a product intensity standard instead.
This new approach would measure emissions across a product's lifecycle, promoting reductions through various technologies.

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In recent episodes of the All Things Sustainable podcast, we’ve interviewed some of the world’s biggest financial and technology companies about how they’re approaching sustainability and the energy transition. But how is the energy industry thinking about these topics — including the world’s largest fossil fuel companies?

To answer that question, we traveled to Houston, Texas, to cover the annual CERAWeek conference hosted by S&P Global — an event informally known as the ‘Super Bowl’ of the energy industry. In today’s episode we sit down on the sidelines of CERAWeek with Matt Kolesar, Chief Environmental Scientist at ExxonMobil. US-based ExxonMobil is one of the largest publicly traded oil and gas companies in the world, with operations in more than 60 countries and a market cap of more than $490 billion.

Matt explains the company’s sustainability strategy and approach to the energy transition. Stay tuned for future episodes, where we’ll bring you more interviews with stakeholders across the energy value chain.

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.

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