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Sustainability

Our Approach

As a progressive energy and solutions partner, we strive to build trusted relationships with our stakeholders, and to create a positive impact on society and the environment.

Sustainability at PETRONAS

 

PETRONAS is committed to delivering energy for the growing needs of today and to developing solutions that will move us closer to a lower carbon future.

As part of that commitment, we aim to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. We are intensifying our efforts to reduce emissions from our operations and products while at the same time investing in new lower carbon business growth opportunities.

We acknowledge that we have an important role to play in the energy transition, both in Malaysia and the other countries we operate in. In navigating this transition, we aim to get the balance right, ensuring that we are addressing our emissions, conserving and protecting nature and biodiversity as well as promoting a just transition that ensures equitable social and economic opportunities that can benefit more people.

Sustainable Value Creation

We deliver long-term value through robust financial performance, a resilient business portfolio, and sustainable growth while making a positive contribution to society and the environment. This is underpinned by our Statement of Purpose: “A progressive energy and solutions partner enriching lives for a sustainable future.”

Sustainability Approach

At our core, we believe that sustainable business practices are essential for the long-term success of our company, our stakeholders, and the planet. Our actions are framed by our Sustainability Approach.

Sustainability Approach

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United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals

Our activities aim to contribute towards the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). PETRONAS embraces all 17 SDGs and prioritises that we believe we can contribute most effectively towards as part of our sustainability efforts. It is important to recognise that the goals are interconnected to one another.

 

7 prioritized Sustainable Development Goals

 

 

 

 

 

Materiality Assessment

In 2022, we undertook a rigorous reassessment and revalidation of our material topics to ensure that they remain relevant and integral to our sustainability strategy and reporting. We use a non-financial materiality assessment to inform our sustainability priorities and disclosures that identifies topics that are most important to our stakeholders and have the most impact on our business.

 

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In 2022, our materiality matrix has seen a few movements of topics, signaling changes in the importance to our stakeholders and the impact to our business.

Further details can be obtained through our Integrated Report here.

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Double Materiality

Through our double materiality approach, we consider both the financial and sustainability impact of our material topics. This approach allows us to understand the financial implications of sustainability risks and opportunities and how they may impact our long-term financial performance.

Further details can be obtained from our PIR2022 Report here.

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Material Topics

Description

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Emissions

Our approach to realising our Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 Pathway is guided by our four main decarbonisation levers – zero routine flaring and venting, energy efficiency, electrification and carbon capture and storage. Additionally, we are continuously improving measurement quantification to mitigate methane emissions from our operations to limit the impact of Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions over a more immediate period. We are focusing on gaining a clearer understanding of energy consumption within the company and throughout our value chain to support our emissions mitigation efforts. We also pursue collaborative initiatives with industry peers.

Climate Change Risks

Our aim is to strengthen PETRONAS’ resilience to physical and transition climate change risks, while seizing the opportunities presented in the transition to a lower carbon economy. We are actively looking into adaptation and resilience measures, as well as the relevant governance systems to manage climate-related risks and opportunities, as per the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD).

Environmental Management

Protecting and conserving the environment will minimise the impact of our operations on the environment. This will also ensure the long-term health of our business and the communities around us. We identify and assess the environmental impact of our operations and focus on managing our resources sustainably. This includes (but is not limited to) decreasing the impact of emissions, creating responsible waste and water management strategies, preventing spills, and decommissioning our assets in a safe and sustainable manner.

Nature and Biodiversity

We must conserve and protect nature and biodiversity in order to deliver on our business goals and Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 Pathway. As climate change is significantly driving biodiversity loss and may cause irreversible damage, we aim to further understand our relationship and dependency on nature and biodiversity in order to improve our impact on them.

Safety Management

Managing the safety of our people continues to remain a top priority as this ensures we protect our employees and contractors from any harm or injuries. In striving towards operational excellence, we conduct proactive risk management practices across our business and operations to provide the safest possible work conditions while ensuring our assets are continuously well maintained.

Human Rights

We aim to respect human rights across our suppliers, contractors, partners and communities where we operate with the establishment and implementation of a Human Rights Policy and supporting practices. We periodically review our policies and practices to ensure we have a robust approach to addressing human rights issues on forced labour, human trafficking, modern slavery, fair working conditions and non-discrimination. We have also started to embed human rights due diligence practices in systems and functions across our value chain, including remediation actions.

Employee Attraction, Retention and Development

Given the dynamically evolving energy landscape, we require future-ready talent with the right knowledge and skills to realise our strategy and drive business resilience over the long term. Investment in high-performing talents is crucial, especially in an environment of increasing competition for skills. Our aim is to continuously attract and retain the best talent by providing flexible work arrangements, creating opportunities to foster individual potential and implementing fair and equitable compensation that is consistent with a rewards-based performance. We also strive to create a fair and inclusive workplace by supporting equal treatment of all employees regardless of gender, age, cultural background, skills, race and religion.

Health and Well-Being

We place great emphasis on protecting all employees and contractors from work-related hazards and promoting good health and well-being among our workforce and the wider community. It is imperative to create a safe and conducive work culture, as our employees’ health and well-being directly impact our long-term performance. We conduct risk assessments, introduce adequate controls and implement a wide range of health and wellness initiatives that help address the physical and mental health of our employees and their families.

Corporate Governance

It is important that we practice and uphold the highest standards in corporate governance, a key factor in determining business resilience and long-term growth. This also covers our strategies and roadmap in delivering our Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 Pathway.

Anti-Bribery and Corruption

We believe that creating a strong foundation based on ethics and integrity will drive shared and equitable values among stakeholders. We need to protect our operations and business from any form of corruption and unethical behaviour. Throughout the value chain, we strongly encourage ethical and responsible business practices and compliance with standards and guidelines among employees, business partners, suppliers, contractors and other intermediaries. We do this by upholding PETRONAS’ Anti-Bribery and Corruption Policy and the PETRONAS Code of Conduct and Business Ethics.

Lower Carbon and Energy Transition Business

In combatting the climate challenge, we continue to strengthen our efforts in lower carbon and energy transition business as this allows us to step out beyond our core and develop new businesses to realise our Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 Pathway. This includes our focus on natural gas as a fuel with lower carbon intensity than other more polluting fossil fuels; and other business growth opportunities such as renewable energy, hydrogen, green mobility, specialty chemicals and biofuels. Our efforts are channelled towards achieving a balance of energy security, affordability and sustainability, taking into consideration the latest policies, goals, accounting instruments and technologies that facilitate the energy transition.

Economic Contribution

Our ability to drive long-term business growth goes hand-in-hand with the prosperity of the markets and communities in which we operate. Our goal is to contribute to economic development that benefits all segments of society by generating economic value through our products and services, servicing capital payouts, and paying wages and taxes while generating social, commercial and working opportunities for citizens. We also provide assistance especially in times of crisis through funds, volunteering efforts and in-kind products or services. We strive to ensure that PETRONAS is responsible and transparent in tax practices in our obligation to comply with applicable tax regulations.

Sustainable Supply Chain

We pay close attention to our overall supply chain management, product stewardship and procurement as this mitigates risks that impact the environment, society and economy. To improve supply chain resilience, we continuously strengthen our efforts to nurture and support local suppliers where possible and applicable. We also share global work practices with regional and local entities to support the local economy.

Innovation and Technology

We embrace innovation through the implementation of internal frameworks and measures that promote the practice of challenging the status quo in product design and operations to generate new solutions that enhance our competitive advantage and brand reputation. This includes developing and using advanced technologies and digital innovations to generate new business processes, including improving customer and other stakeholders' experiences. In terms of approach, we leverage innovation and technology across all operations and services to accelerate our business growth and offerings.

Circular Economy

Our long-term ambition is to minimise or eliminate the negative environmental impact of a product by addressing waste and reducing materials consumption. We also aim to decrease plastic pollution by engaging in recycling and reusing, as this also creates opportunities for innovation and lower waste generation. The circular economy model encourages the creation of closed-loop systems where waste from one process becomes an input for another. Our aspiration is to work towards a low-waste future, steward natural resources and minimise our carbon footprint while creating value.

 

 

Our Materiality Assessment Process

Process

2021 – Full Materiality Assessment

2022 – Revalidation of Materiality Assessment

Identification

 

In-house desktop analysis that includes a range of internal and external sources:

  • Reporting frameworks and standards
  • Internal strategies, policies, processes and documentation
  • Relevant legislations in the countries we operate
  • National industry-specific trends and survey outcomes
  • ESG ratings and benchmarks
  • Peer benchmarking

Data-driven tool to include new sources:

  • Existing and emerging regulations
  • Media
  • Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards

Stakeholder Engagement

 

Validation process via interviews and surveys with stakeholders:

  • Employee representatives including union leaders
  • Government and regulatory bodies
  • Embassies, high commissions and foreign representatives
  • Communities and customers
  • Media
  • Investors, credit rating agencies and financial institutions
  • Industry partners, alliances and business councils
  • Non-government organisations (NGOs) and special interest groups
  • Learning institutions

In-depth feedback from external stakeholders, including:

  • Investors, banks, and rating agencies
  • Reputation Strength Index survey

Prioritisation

 

We prioritised the identified topics based on two key areas – their importance to stakeholders and their impact on our business. Prioritisation criteria include:

  • Occurrence in grievances
  • Topics highlighted by investors and rating agencies’ assessments
  • Discussions at Board and Executive Leadership Team meetings
  • Alignment with risk elements in Corporate Risk Profile

Priorisation criteria include:

  • Alignment with strategy and focus areas
  • Discussions at Board and Executive Leadership Team meetings
  • Alignment with risk elements in Corporate Risk Profile

Data-driven tool to assess and prioritise financial materiality and impact materiality.


Endorsement and Approval

 

Endorsed by Sustainability Committee and approved by Vice President and Chief Sustainability Officer

 

 

Memberships & Associations

We actively participate in professional associations, events and memberships with the aim to strengthen our sustainability efforts. Through these various platforms, we are able to exchange knowledge on best practices to drive the sustainability agenda within and outside of our operations. This is part of our commitment to Malaysia's nation-building efforts and to create positive impact across industries and society.

Through our network of international and national organisations and industry partners we can collectively enhance and generate knowledge, share best practices, and support decarbonisation initiatives that create value for the company and our stakeholders.

 

 

PETRONAS supports the aims of the organisations below with the intent to strengthen our overall sustainability governance, raise awareness, deliver education programmes and define our positions on various climate and sustainability-related aspects that are aligned with our NCZE 2050 Pathway:

PETRONAS continues to lead and be visible in advocating our sustainability-related values through national and international platforms, initiatives and organisations, such as:

 

 

Our Approach to Sustainability Reporting and Publications

We view Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) as an integral part of delivering long-term stakeholder value. We are guided by the following national and international guidance, frameworks and standards to ensure that our report is accurate, reliable and comprehensive:

  • The International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC) Framework
  • Ipieca reporting guidance for the oil and gas industry
  • American Petroleum Institute (API) Standards
  • International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP) Standards
  • Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standards
  • World Economic Forum’s Stakeholder Capitalism Metrics
  • Task Force on Climate-Related Financial Disclosures (TCFD)

PETRONAS will continue to improve data integrity through assurance and verification exercises to build trust among stakeholders, both internal and external. Click here to view our GHG verification statements.

Ensuring we remain committed to maintaining our standards in managing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, we continue strengthening our reporting practices to be aligned with internationally recognised principles, frameworks, and standards, including the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) framework recommendations. Since 2022, we also report through the CDP disclosure platform.

 

Adopting TCFD

 

We aspire to proactively strengthen transparency in reporting while shaping the national climate-related risk disclosure practice in Malaysia. We apply the framework recommendations put forward by the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) to our assessment of climate risk. By aligning our strategic assessment of risk with TCFD, we strive to effectively manage and capitalise on climate-related risks and opportunities and accelerate progress towards our path to net zero.

Read more here.

 

Governance

We recognise that climate change is a critical business issue, contributing to a set of risks and opportunities. We are taking more deliberate actions to elevate sustainability, especially climate-related discussions at the Board, to shape the long-term strategic direction of the company. The role of the Board in climate-related matters can be referred to in the Sustainability Statement section.

Strategy

We defined our Net Zero Carbon Emissions by 2050 Pathway to accelerate and advance groupwide actions and commitment. The Pathway — with its short-, medium-and long-term targets - will steer the group towards realising our climate goals. The Pathway is two-pronged, reducing operational greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increasing investments in business growth opportunities in the lower carbon economy.

Risk & Opportunities

We apply a group-wide approach to the management of risk through the establishment of the PETRONAS Risk Policy and complemented by the PETRONAS Resiliency Model, which the Enterprise Risk Management Framework is part of. These policies and frameworks provide an integrated and holistic view of the overall strategy towards effective risk management. We have adopted TCFD's categorisation of climate-related risks into two major categories which are transition risks and physical risks.

Metrics and Targets

PETRONAS has adopted the equity share approach to account for our emissions inventory and performance. We have revised our carbon emissions accounting method to adhere to international frameworks and sector specific guidance to give us a robust basis for Scope 1 and Scope 2, and a better understanding of Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions.

Read more for details description on our adoption of TCFD in www.petronas.com/integrated-report-2022/

 

 

 

Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)

 

In 2022, we participated in a CDP survey by responding to the minimum version of the survey. This response is not rated as it is not a full questionnaire. In July 2023, we submitted our response to the full version of the Climate Change questionnaire.

Read more on our submission below.

 

 

 

Methane Guiding Principle (MGP)

 

As part of our efforts to reduce methane emissions, we have joined other industry and non-industry members under the Methane Guiding Principles (MGP) initiative as a signatory member. The MGP was developed collaboratively by a coalition of industry, international institutions, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and academia. It is a voluntary, international multi-stakeholder partnership between industry and non-industry organisations with a focus on actions along the natural gas value chain, from production to the final consumer.

 

In 2020, PETRONAS became a signatory member of Methane Guiding Principles (MGP). In 2023, PETRONAS publicly reported our progress in accordance with the five MGP principles on our approach to effective methane management.

 

 

 

 

Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0 (OGMP 2.0)

 

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)’s Oil & Gas Methane Partnership (OGMP2.0) is an industry-specific initiative and internationally recognized framework for effective methane emissions management. OGMP2.0 provides a mechanism for companies to address and report methane emissions systematically.

Member companies report on methane emissions along five levels of reporting, increasing the accuracy of reporting with each level with the aim to achieve the Gold Standard – the highest reporting level under OGMP 2.0. Companies must achieve Level 4/5 reporting for operated assets within three years and for non-operated assets within five years. In 2023, PETRONAS achieved OGMP2.0 Gold Standard for its methane pathway.

 

PETRONAS became a signatory member to the OGMP2.0 in 2022. Efforts are being taken to systematically enhance PETRONAS’ approach in accordance with the framework on methane emissions measurement, quantification, reporting, and implementation of our decarbonisation levers particularly zero routine flaring and venting, and energy efficiency.

 

 


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