IBM: Fossil Fuel Companies Are Climate Change Victims, Not Perpetrators

Along with other large IT companies such as HP, IBM appears to have an extremely pragmatic take on climate change.

Keen to be seen to be green with a rash of carbon-cutting services and “green” hardware, the vendor is also happy to profit from the lucrative contracts available from oil and gas companies’ continuing research and exploration for new carbon-rich reserves.

In a report released this week, Global Oil & Gas – The Adaptation Challenge, IBM discusses how oil and gas companies can use IT systems (presumably from IBM) to off-set some of the impact of climate change on their operations and future profitability.

But while the incisive report is happy to drill down into details such as how water shortages caused by global warming could harm the water intensive operations of oil and gas companies, it side-steps any direct criticism of the industry for its contribution to climate change.

“Given the track-record of the oil and gas industry and its ability to innovate, we see no reason why it will not continue to be a major contributor to society and the economy in the future,” the report states.

Allan Roberts, IBM’s industrial strategy & change leader, IBM Global Business Services, UK & Ireland even goes on to claim that any disruption to the future profitability of oil and gas companies from climate change won’t just be bad for the businesses themselves but society as a whole. “The oil and gas industry is an important contributor to our society and economy, so if anything impacts the industry it could well impact people at home, at work, on the move, or even their personal finances,” he said.

IBM is not alone in its fervent support for the future of oil and gas companies whilst simultaneously declaring its love of the environment and opposition to the causes of climate change. HP recently held a conference in the Hungarian capital Budapest where the company discussed the IT services and products it could offer fossil fuel producers to help them improve exploration and management of their businesses. Hewlett-Packard is committed to cutting its own carbon emissions, but is also happy to profit directly from the tools and services it sells to utility companies for fossil fuel production and exploration, said the European chairman of HP’s environmental board Klaus Hieronymi at HP’s 9th Executive Energy Conference 2009 event in Budapest.

“I think the oil and gas industries have the same challenges as everyone,” he told eWEEK Europe at the event. “I think its an illusion to say that we will reduce our dependency on oil and gas in the next five years. No way. So the challenge is to make sure that we still have the appropriate reserves there and help the oil and gas industry to find more.”

The supportive messages given out by HP and IBM on the societal and economic value of fossil fuel companies contrasts starkly with the IT vendors stance on the impact of the actual fossil fuels themselves. “IBM has a long history of environmental leadership. The company’s corporate policy on environmental protection, first established in 1971, is supported by a comprehensive global environmental management system that governs its operations worldwide,” the company states on the “Environmental Stewardship” section of its website.

In its latest environmental report, the company states: “Between 1990 and 2008, IBM’s annual conservation actions saved a sum total of 4.9 billion kWh of electricity consumption, avoided nearly 3.3 million metric tons of CO2 emissions (equal to 48% of the company’s 1990 global CO2 emissions) and saved over $343 million in energy expense.”