ConocoPhillips

Does the core business genuinely avoid or reduce emissions, or build climate resilience? Share of revenue that is actually 'green'. Fossil-dependent models score low.

ConocoPhillips' core business is hydrocarbon extraction; in 2024 it reported ~239 billion kg CO2e in Scope 3 alone, and gross operated emissions rose ~17% in 2025 following the Marathon Oil acquisition, leaving essentially zero net-positive climate impact from its core activities.

Credible, science-based targets (SBTi), a real net-zero plan with progress to date, and CDP disclosure — not just a dated press release.

ConocoPhillips has a 50–60% Scope 1+2 GHG intensity reduction target by 2030 (from 2016) and a 2050 net-zero operational ambition, but targets are intensity-based (not absolute), cover only Scope 1+2, have no SBTi validation, and the 2050 pledge explicitly excludes Scope 3 — which accounts for ~94% of total emissions.

Operational footprint, labour and social practices, and governance quality across the company's own operations and supply chain.

ConocoPhillips holds an MSCI ESG 'AA' rating, is a DJSI constituent (one of only four North American upstream E&P companies), achieved OGMP 2.0 Gold Standard methane reporting, and ties ESG metrics to executive compensation — above-average for oil and gas peers but still a high-emitting operator with active environmental litigation.

Quality of disclosure, independent third-party verification, and how much hard data backs the company's claims.

ConocoPhillips publishes annual sustainability reports with Scope 1, 2, and 3 data, follows API Template 2.0 and OGMP 2.0 Gold Standard for methane reporting, discloses a cost-of-supply curve and scenario analysis, and includes ESG data assurance — solid for the sector, but third-party verification scope and CDP grade are not fully disclosed publicly.

Controversies, litigation, pollution, fossil-fuel lobbying, conflict-zone involvement and governance scandals. Higher means cleaner.

ConocoPhillips is a defendant in 22 Louisiana coastal contamination lawsuits, faces multiple US climate-liability suits filed by governmental entities, and carries a securities fraud lawsuit (Concho-related) that survived dismissal in 2023 — a pattern of significant ongoing legal exposure on environmental and governance grounds.