Exxon CEO Ray Anderson's Transformation

Ariel Boonstra BUS 122 2019WINTER W03 Professor Stradal

Exxon Mobile

1. I believe Ray Anderson is educating us on how he transformed his company. He

had gone from being a “plunderer of the Earth” to the “greenest CEO” (Anderson) in just

a matter of years. Regardless of the company and if they’re being detrimental to the

Earth, there is a solution. Renewable resources can be used instead of fossil fuels is one

step that can be made. Mankind is the reason for the decline in the biosphere but is also

the solution. Business’ can transform their companies to not only be successful, but Earth

friendly too. How businesses are running today will not only affect the present, but the

future as well. It is not necessary to take more than what we need because it will deplete

resources and add to the Earth’s pollution.

Ray Anderson had foun d a solution to having a decline in costs while also having

little to no waste.

He’s become very Earth friendly while increasing his profits. He also

believes that there should be a change in the equation as technology reduces the

environmental impact. It is up to mankind to choose between helping or hurting the

Earth. If other businesses took the same steps as Ray Anderson, it would benefit more

than the business itself. It would give a better future for new generations and the Earth.

With strategic planni ng, the amount of waste would decrease and we wouldn’t be abusing

the resources that we don’t have enough of already.

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2. I think that Exxon Mobile is trying to practice sustainability. According to the

advisory panel, one of their primary responsib ility is to “produce the energy and products

the world needs in a responsible manner”. On their website you can access the reports

that include sustainability reports and an energy and carbon summary. They state their

Ariel Boonstra BUS 122 2019WINTER W03 Professor Stradal

goals that they are currently working on and how to plan to reach it in the future. Looking

into the annual report I discovered that the company has been improving their

performance by reducing costs, enhancing output, and minimizing environmental

impacts. Exxon also has an external sustainabi lity advisory panel that gathers and

provides information regarding the company’s sustainability activities. It wasn’t until

2017 -2018 when the company went from a corporate citizen report to a sustainability

report, meaning they’v e recently made some chan ges within the past few years which

resulted in having more concern about the global issues and environmental impacts. The

company has decided to join the alliance in the Paris Agreement, the United Nations

Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nati ons Guiding Principles for Business

and Human Right. Previously the company didn’t have any intentions as they were in

denial of climate change.

3. There are specific measurements Exxon Mobile is taking to being sustainable.

There are 6 key areas wh ich can be separated into three separate groups. The first group

being the Environment which includes managing the risks of climate change, and

environm ental performance. The second group is Governance which covers corporate

governance. The third and last group is social, which consists of Community engagement

and human rights, local development and supply chain management and safety, health

and the workplace.

To date Exxon has been able to manage the risks of climate change by declining

emissi ons in their operations, developing scalable technology solutions, providing

customer solutions that reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and engaging on climate

change policy. To date Exxon has avoided 168 million metric tons of greenhouse gases

Ariel Boonstra BUS 122 2019WINTER W03 Professor Stradal

since 20 08. In 2017 23.4 million metric tons was avoided alone. With technology and

new investments and research the company has been able to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions and plan to continue doing so with expecting a “greenhouse gas reduction

measures to lead to a 15 percent decrease in methane emissions and a 25 percent

reduction in flaring by 2020”, as stated in the (Sustainability Report).

Managing the environmental performance consisted of making donations in order

to help with biodiversification protection and land conservation. There has been a

decrease of 20 percent in freshwater consumption from 2011 to 2017. Being an oil

company, spills are something that’s has happened and negatively affected the

environment, and Exxon has a plan in motion. In case one does occur, they will respond

fast and effectively in containing and cleaning of the mess created. According to the

report there had been a 7 percent decline from 2016 to 2017. The Sustainability Report

also included information regarding spills. Since 20 11 the company “reduced the absolute

number of spills greater than 1 barrel by more than 55 percent across our global

operations. The total volume of hydrocarbons spilled on soil and water was 6,900 barrels

in 2017, and more than 65 percent was recovered a t the spill sites” (Sustainability

Report). Additionally, to the new technologies, they have been able to also help in

providing cleaner air for the past ten years, and will continue to do so in the future.

Exxon Mobile had decreased emissions of dangerous compounds, sulfur dioxide, and

nitrogen oxides by 31 percent.

With committing to the community and human rights the company has made a

total of 204 million dollars of contributions worldwide. The United States was given 125

million dollars while Canada 9 million, Latin America 4 million, Africa and the Middle

Ariel Boonstra BUS 122 2019WINTER W03 Professor Stradal

East 25 million, Asia Pacific 13 million, and 28 million towards Europe and Caspian. All

of which had been donated in just 2017. Their goal is to invest in communities around the

world to help benefit them with areas including, the health, environment, education,

women, arts and culture, and so much more. They have increased the amount of spending

throughout the years and continue to do so (Sustainability Report).

The company’s Chief Executive Officer Darren Woods has future plans that are

predicted to play out by 2025. By that time the company expects to double its profits

while still focusing on the risks of climate change. It has been estimated that trillions of

dollars are going to be needed in ord er to limit the increase in degrees towards global

warming by just 2 degrees. According to the page Growth Plans and Advances in Lower –

Carbon Solutions, they plan to grow the “chemical manufacturing capacity in North

America and Asia Pacific by about 40 pe rcent” by focusing on “ integration, technology,

operational excellence and project execution”. They have a goal in wanting to cut

methane emissions by 15 percent and a 25 percent decline in flaring.

4. Greenwashing is when a company tries to seem like they’re environmentally

friendly that could include using deceptive word to better their brand. They want the

public to believe they’re intentions are to be environmentally friendly when in fact they

are not.

Exxon Mobile has committed greenwashing in the past and can find multiple articles

having information regarding it. However, in the past years the company has made

changes to the company regarding their impact on the environment. They used to be in

denial of global warming and clima te change but had a change of view with new

members joining the company that understand the damages companies like this can have.

Ariel Boonstra BUS 122 2019WINTER W03 Professor Stradal

It’s only better for them to acknowledge and make changes like joining the climate

change alliance. That step right there is h elping the company go in a healthier direction

for the company's success and growth. They’ve been changing their image for bettering

their brand and environment simultaneously.

5. I think Exxon Mobile is sincere about sustainability as they have s haped its

company around it. Through all the information I came across and gathered, they have

made changes throughout time to commit to being an affordable and sustainable energy

solution which is needed in order to advance in global success. They work wi th local

communities to support economic growth for the future. They work on reducing the

amount of emission of gases. Exxon has also worked on improving efficiency by using

technology to reduce, reuse, and recycle energy.

Ariel Boonstra BUS 122 2019WINTER W03 Professor Stradal

Works Cited

Anderson, Ray. “The Business Logic of Sustainability.” Ted , Ted, Feb. 2009,

www.ted.com/talks/ray_anderson_on_the_business_logic_of_sustainability . (1)

“External Sustainability Advisory Panel | ExxonMobil.” ExxonMobil , 24 Oct. 2018,

corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/community -engagement/sustainability -report/external –

sustainability -advisory -panel. (2)

ExxonMoile/2017 Sustainability Report Highlights . 2017, ExxonMoile/2017 Sustainability

Report Highlights , corporate.exxonmobil.com/en/~/medi a/Global/Files/sustainability –

report/publication/2017 -Sustainability -Report.pdf. (3)

“ExxonMobil CEO Darren Woods Highlights Growth Plans and Advances in Lower -Carbon

Solutions.” ExxonMobil News Releases , 30 May 2018, news.exxonmobil.com/press –

release/exx onmobil -ceo -darren -woods -highlights -growth -plans -and -advances -lower -carbon –

solution. (3)