Board oversight

The ConocoPhillips Board of Directors oversees our position on climate change and related strategic planning and risk management policies and procedures, including those for managing climate-related risks and opportunities. In particular, the board reviews: 

• Sustainable development risk management processes. 

• Enterprise risk management policy and output. 

• Corporate strategy and Climate Risk Strategy. 

• Energy transition scenarios and planning. 

• Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions target and progress. 

• Low-carbon technology plans. 

There are five standing committees of the board:  

• Executive 

• Audit and Finance 

• Human Resources and Compensation 

• Directors’ Affairs 

• Public Policy and Sustainability  

Each committee, other than the Executive Committee, is made up of independent directors. Issues considered by the committees are, as appropriate, regularly reported to the full board.

The Audit and Finance Committee (AFC) oversees enterprise risk management. The AFC facilitates appropriate coordination among the committees to ensure that our risk management processes, including those related to climate change, are functioning properly with necessary steps taken to foster a culture of prudent decision making throughout the company. The AFC receives annual updates on how, through the enterprise risk management system, we identify, address, mitigate and manage enterprise risk, including climate-related considerations that influence market, reputational, operational and political risks.  

The Public Policy and Sustainability Committee (PPSC) oversees the identification, evaluation and monitoring of climate-related trends and risks that could affect business activities and performance. In 2023, the PPSC met five times, received in-depth briefings and engaged in discussions on the following climate-related topics: 

• Development and implementation of strategies for climate risk, progress on our Plan for the Energy Transition, addressing Scope 3 emissions and financial sector engagement. 

• Progress against climate goals and improvement to target setting with an accelerated 2030 GHG intensity target. 

• SD risk management processes, governance, results, integration into ERM and link to compensation. 

• Evolving expectations for sustainability reporting, including emerging regulations and standards and our actions to strengthen and improve verification and assurance, processes and controls, and data measurement and quality. 

• Engagement outcomes from the 2023 annual general meeting season. 

• Review of SD achievements in 2023 and priorities for 2024. 

The PPSC reports out at each regularly scheduled full board meeting. The full board also reviews the Climate Risk Strategy at the annual Board Strategy Session. 

Other board committees also address climate-related issues. The Human Resources and Compensation Committee reviews executive compensation and performance-based components of our compensation programs, including sustainability performance. The annual Variable Compensation Incentive Plan (VCIP) includes metrics for strategic and energy transition milestones that address climate-related and other SD-related risk-based priorities.  

Read more about the skills and qualifications of our board members.