Stakeholder engagement | SLB

Stakeholder engagement

Stakeholder engagement is critical to supporting our governance and sustainability efforts

Sustainability stakeholder engagement.
Our commitment to stakeholders
SLB strives to maintain and grow the trust and confidence of our customers and shareholders as well as all other stakeholders affected by our operations. When we clearly behave in an ethical manner, we enhance our reputation as a partner, employer, and community member.

Stakeholder engagement

Employee volunteering

Building on the successes of our volunteering program launched in 2022, our employees continued to deploy their skills to support the communities where we live and work. The focus of our community volunteering program is to

  • build engagement within our teams
  • foster a strong relationship within our communities
  • provide support for communities that have been affected by a natural disaster.

In 2023, our employees logged more than 1,700 days of total volunteering time, captured in our global time tracking tool.

 

Customers

In 2023, we focused on engaging major customers, reducing and avoiding customer emissions, collaborating on sustainability initiatives, and contributing to carbon footprint reduction partnerships. Our dedication extends beyond operational decarbonization and digital for our customers; it involves developing cutting-edge Transition Technologies™ to minimize environmental impact throughout the exploration and production life cycle. This portfolio—featuring solutions including geothermal and geoenergy, carbon capture and storage, sustainable lithium production, measuring and eliminating methane, and hydrogen business—exemplifies our collaborative efforts with customers for sustainable practices.

Governments and policymakers

Governments and policymakers actively seek SLB experts for their knowledge and experience in various aspects of the oil and gas industry. SLB is politically neutral, but offers technical support to regulatory officials interested in gaining practical insights into technologies and processes that mitigate emissions and reduce our industry’s carbon footprint. SLB does not use corporate funds or resources for political campaign contributions or advocacy, but we do pay regular dues to industry groups as necessary for membership. We work with various think tanks and non-governmental organizations, some of which wield policy influence, to collectively support industry initiatives, including those focused on sustainability and decarbonization efforts.

Sustainability outreach initiatives

Sustainability Roadshow

Launched in Europe, the Sustainability Roadshow program aims to raise awareness about SLB’s commitment to sustainability aligned with its climate action, people, and nature priorities. Over 35 roadshows engaging more than 2,000 employees improved employee engagement and understanding of the organizational priorities.

UN SDG Innovation Accelerator

In 2023, SLB actively engaged in the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Innovation Accelerator for Young Professionals program, a nine-month initiative by the UN Global Compact. This program emphasizes a design thinking approach to drive solutions aligned with the SDGs. SLB teams, as part of this program, focused on developing a sustainable impact project, choosing to explore opportunities for creating technology aimed at producing synthetic aviation fuel.

Employee engagement initiatives

Leadership special interest group

Boasting more than 3,500 members and 20% growth in 2023, the SLB Leadership Special Interest Group (SIG) remains a decade-strong, inclusive group dedicated to maximizing diversity and leadership development. Symposia, mentoring circles, and other activities facilitate a robust exchange of ideas, with a focus on instilling leadership and promoting diversity and inclusion.

Leadership SIG recently hosted its annual Engage in Leadership Symposium at the United Way of Greater Houston. In honor of the SIG’s 10th anniversary, this year’s theme was “Celebrate the Leader in You.” A variety of key topics from our cultural framework were covered, including leading with respect, focusing on what matters most, and championing experimentation, learning, and growth. As we continue to evolve our culture around our three core values of people, technology, and performance (including the nine behaviors associated with them), leadership is an important part of making this evolution a success.

 

Sustainability SIG Energy

With more than 3,500 members, this SIG serves as a hub for discussing environmental, social, and biodiversity concerns.

Energy Transition Technologies SIG

With more than 2,300 members, Energy Transition SIG is a driving force behind SLB's net-zero goals. Noteworthy events such as Energy Transition Week, drawing 4,350+ views, spotlight our advancements.

Carbon Capture SIG

Launched in 2023, this SIG quickly grew to become one of the company’s largest SIGs with more than 3,550 members. The SIG’s aim is to cover technology and market developments in carbon capture to foster innovation, engagement, and learning among its members.

Engage to Excel

Each year, SLB conducts an annual engagement survey worldwide to measure workforce engagement and employee perception. The Engage to Excel survey continues to serve as the cornerstone element of SLB’s commitment to listening to the “voice of the employee” and ensuring we take relevant action to address employee engagement. In 2023, the participation rate hit 92%, placing us in the top 1% of the external benchmark for companies of similar size. Overall, our engagement index increased 400 basis points compared with 2022. This brings us closer to our goal of reaching the top quartile by continually taking action to impact the overall employee experience at SLB. We also observed a significant increase in the response regarding whether employees feel SLB is committed to sustainability, at an 81% positive rating, a 6% increase from 2022 results. This reflects the company’s strong commitment to sustainability, as supported by our newly launched branding in 2022, reflecting the company’s commitment to being at the heart of the sustainable energy transition.

In 2023, the Engage to Excel participation rate hit 92%, placing us in the top 1% of the external benchmark for companies of similar size.

University collaborations

Our university engagements are pivotal for recruiting and sustainability. We support STEM education, research, and attract diverse, talented graduates from local universities in our operating countries. In 2023, we recruited 1,007 interns from 803 universities across 95 countries.

Examples of university collaborations

  • Stanford University's Precourt Institute for Energy discusses climate change, clean energy technologies, and a customized strategy to achieve net-zero energy.
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Horizon provides a comprehensive online library for employees, focusing on cutting-edge technology areas.
  • Colorado State University discusses the fight against methane emissions through innovative technology and groundbreaking research.
  • Foundation Université Paris Cité and the University of Antananarivo participate in SLB-supported learning and training on water management in Madagascar through the Safe-M project as part of UN SDG.
  • AI Academy in Indonesia, in partnership with Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) and Pertamina University, addresses digital challenges in Indonesia's oil and gas sector.
  • India universities and SLB India technology centers collaborate via joint projects ranging from various industry challenges involving modeling, materials, and mechanical engineering topics to country-specific environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives.
  • We also select certain institutions for our University Ambassador Program, through which we assign a senior-level SLB manager as an “Ambassador” to an institution targeted for recruiting, research, community outreach, and technology transfer opportunities.

Strategic partnerships and global impact events

 

In 2023, SLB joined more than 200 forward-thinking companies as a member of the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD).

We attended the 28th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP28). We firmly believe the oil and gas industry must have a seat at the table in climate change negotiations, and in 2023, we were proud to participate in COP28. As a leading technology provider with tangible solutions, we demonstrated our role as a change agent for decarbonization and new energy innovation with industry leaders, governments, investors, customers, climate advisors, non-governmental organizations, youth groups, and the general public.

Alongside our industry-leading peers at the Reuters Events™ Global Energy Transition 2023 and Responsible Business Awards, we signed a collective vision of the global energy transition. Through collaboration, we will accelerate the speed of innovation for a decarbonized, diversified, and digitalized energy system.

Transition Technologies is a mark of SLB.
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