Insights Article ESG reporting: Leveraging sustainability's under-utilized impact accelerator
ESG reporting can accelerate sustainability impact in multiple ways by activating both your internal and external stakeholders.
We align with evolving consumer expectations and regulatory trends, working to position our organization as a responsible steward of resources. At SLB, we have designed our circularity approach in a holistic transformation across several functions in the organization.
Enabling circularity in our organization, when utilizing finite materials, is imperative as it allows us to extract maximum value from limited resources at our disposal, mitigating the environmental impact associated with their extraction and disposal. Adopting circularity fosters resilience by reducing dependence on virgin materials. At SLB, we have developed a 5”R” framework: reduce, reuse, refurbish, remanufacture and recycle.
In the Well Construction Division, condition-based maintenance using prognostics and health management has resulted in a 25% increase of useful life of the mud motor, a critical component used in well drilling, providing the opportunity to perform more drilling runs.
The Digital Surface Inspector in the Production Systems Division uses machine learning algorithms to detect defects in valve gate surfaces, increasing the reuse of valve gates and reducing the need for 4,100 new units, thereby preventing more than 122,000 kilograms of scrap waste.
In Reservoir Performance, the expanded capabilities of the network resulted in the refurbishment of more than 1,400 printed circuit boards to new-like condition, contributing to an estimated 1,600 metric tons reduction of CO2e emissions.
The Repair Network in Technology Lifecycle Management repurposed material from scrapped collars to locally remanufacture parts for different functionalities, avoiding waste. In 2023, they repaired or remanufactured more than 2,800 drilling collars and other components for new uses.
The collection and reprocessing of decommissioned tungsten carbide matrix bits allows the material to be reused rather than discarded.
This program on average yields a minimum of six kilograms of avoided CO2e emissions per kilogram of material recycled. In the period spanning 2020 through 2023, this has totaled more than 3,000 avoided metric tons of CO2e emissions.
This function oversees the acquisition, maintenance, and enrichment of technology and equipment used in operations, focusing on optimizing reliability, sustainability, and performance to meet the evolving needs of our customers. In 2023, we structured our efforts to industrialize at scale. The 5”R” framework serves as a starting point to monitor and track improvements in our collective efforts, making circularity not only paramount for sustainability but also for our business impact. Aligning sustainability gains with profitability provides a greater incentive for innovation and expansion. Additionally, we’ve pursued innovation in sustainability challenges by leveraging data insights, machine learning, and video analytics, enhancing efficiency by reducing waste and enabling data-driven decisions for a more significant impact.