Stigma is costing oil and gas majors their staff

Stigma is costing oil and gas majors their staff

The writer is the author of ‘Uncharted: How to navigate the Future’

Last Monday, Caroline Dennett, a safety consultant at Shell, published an excoriating resignation email, saying she could “no longer work for a company that ignores all the alarms and dismisses the risks of climate change and ecological collapse”. New exploration projects belied the company’s commitment to Net Zero, she said, and she urged fellow workers in the industry to follow her before it was too late. The next day, addressing graduates of Seton Hall University in New Jersey, UN secretary-general António Guterres pleaded with them not to work “for climate wreckers”.

The coincidence of the calls wasn’t planned but it feels like a sea change, with workers anxious that staying in the sector now poses too great a risk to their careers and their consciences.

Dennett was criticisedfor her move but she also received what she calls an “outpouring of positivity” from many in the industry. She claims that retention is a big problem and manpower levels already cause for concern. This is dangerous, because if companies are going to decommission oil rigs and refineries, they need the expertise of an experienced, highly specialised workforce.

Why is retention such an issue? People