Williams has officially published its latest Sustainability Report, which provides a rather comprehensive review of the company’s environmental performance and management, as well as expands upon its efforts on social and governance topics for the 2023 reporting year. Talk about the whole thing on a slightly deeper level, we begin from how the report reveals progress on Williams’ updated greenhouse gas emissions reduction goal i.e. decrease intensity-based carbon emissions by 30%, a goal which compliments shareholder priorities and is informed by the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi). Furthermore, the stated report would go on to inform us in the context of company’s methane reduction efforts that are now poised to outperform its Annual Incentive Program target of a 5% reduction from a 3-year (2020-2022) average. Williams also revealed that it became the first large-scale midstream company in the U.S. to join OGMP 2.0, an international methane emissions reporting initiative. At the same time, it approved a Scope 1 methane intensity target of achieving a 0.0375% methane intensity of operated assets by 2028 – lower than the threshold established in the EPA’s methane intensity rulemaking. Moving on, Williams took the given opportunity to relay its continued execution of a strategy, which is focused upon commercializing NextGen Gas. By doing so, the company hopes to provide full supply chain measurement and certification of methane intensity from production through delivery. Another’s detail worth a mention here is rooted in the company’s pledge to support two regional hydrogen hubs – one in the Pacific Northwest and the other in Appalachia – which the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) selected for investment and development.
The DOE will get further acknowledgement in Williams’ report when the company reveals news of receiving two grants under the DOE’s Carbon Storage Assurance Facility Enterprise (CarbonSAFE) Program. Alongside that, it also unveiled a partnership with University of Wyoming to evaluate permanent carbon storage. Moving on, the Sustainability report in question informed us on Williams’ track record of having volunteered at 92 nonprofit organizations in 19 states during its Volunteer Week. As it did that, though, the lowdown would also end up educating us on the Williams’ contribution of more than $13.1 million to 2,142 organizations, including 348 first responder agencies, across 47 states and Washington, D.C. Joining the same was its 589 total unique engagements with local community stakeholders. In case these community outreach efforts don’t sound impressive enough already, then we must mention how the company also extended support to 10 Employee Resource Groups with total membership exceeding 1,350 employees.
“Sustainability is central to our natural gas-focused strategy at Williams, and this report illustrates our core values in action as a best-in-class operator in the many communities we touch across the country,” said Alan Armstrong, President and CEO of Williams. “As demand for natural gas accelerates, Williams is applying innovative technology and operational improvements to further decarbonize our industry while reliably serving growing energy needs and delivering long-term returns for shareholders.”
Williams’ Sustainability Report even had a section dedicated towards its sustainability ratings and rankings. This section filled us in on how, for the fourth consecutive year, the company secured a place on DJSI North America index. Apart from that, Williams was also named to DJSI World index for the third consecutive year. Then came the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, where Williams received the top score in 2023 Corporate Sustainability Assessment (CSA) that covered the entire North America Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation industry. Furthermore, the company would manage the second highest score across Oil & Gas Storage & Transportation industry globally for DJSI-eligible companies. Williams also received an upgraded ‘A-’ score on the 2023 CDP Climate Change Questionnaire, ranking well above the oil and gas storage and transportation sector (‘C’) and North American regional (‘C’) averages. Beyond that, it was named one of America’s Most Responsible Companies 2024 by Newsweek magazine, ranking first in the Energy & Utilities industry
