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Open track 22: Holding Culprits Accountable: Comparing the Green Transition Narratives and Actions of Oil and Gas Companies
Time:
Tuesday, 03/Sept/2024:
11:30am - 1:00pm
Session Chair: Eva Bartalos
Presentations
Holding Culprits Accountable: Comparing the Green Transition Narratives and Actions of Oil and Gas Companies
Chair(s): Eva Bartalos (Corvinus University of Budapest)
Oil and gas companies have promulgated various narratives of how they will transform their activities in an attempt to maintain the legitimacy of their actions. Companies have placed a strong emphasis on how they communicate their current and future roles amidst the energy transition, weaving a narrative indicative of the given company’s vision to eliminate CO2-intensive operations. However, this does not always align with investment patterns. The latter can be assessed through the flow of investment they direct towards green projects—signaling commitment towards climate action and offering a counterfactual to the visions introduced through their narratives. Drawing on multilevel governance and compliance theories, we explore and theorize six major European energy companies— Shell, BP, OMV, PKN Orlen, Neste, and Orsted—green investment decisions about the narratives they communicate. We base our selection on their ambition, size, and geographical orientation, while the analysis is based on the investment data from the annual financial reports published by the companies between 2017–2022. Narratives are captured through the analysis of various sources (reports, statements, public relations stints, etc.) as well as interviews conducted with corporate representatives and experts of various sorts. Findings suggest that “size matters” and more nimble companies are quicker to adapt and respond to their regulatory environment.
Presentations of the Symposium
Holding Culprits Accountable: Comparing the Green Transition Narratives and Actions of Oil and Gas Companies
Eva Bartalos1, John Szabo2 1Corvinus University of Budapest, 2DAAD Scholar
Oil and gas companies have promulgated various narratives of how they will transform their activities in an attempt to maintain the legitimacy of their actions. Companies have placed a strong emphasis on how they communicate their current and future roles amidst the energy transition, weaving a narrative indicative of the given company’s vision to eliminate CO2-intensive operations. However, this does not always align with investment patterns. The latter can be assessed through the flow of investment they direct towards green projects—signaling commitment towards climate action and offering a counterfactual to the visions introduced through their narratives. Drawing on multilevel governance and compliance theories, we explore and theorize six major European energy companies— Shell, BP, OMV, PKN Orlen, Neste, and Orsted—green investment decisions about the narratives they communicate. We base our selection on their ambition, size, and geographical orientation, while the analysis is based on the investment data from the annual financial reports published by the companies between 2017–2022. Narratives are captured through the analysis of various sources (reports, statements, public relations stints, etc.) as well as interviews conducted with corporate representatives and experts of various sorts. Findings suggest that “size matters” and more nimble companies are quicker to adapt and respond to their regulatory environment.
