Plastics: The Last Straw for Big Oil?

The energy sector is facing significant demand reduction for fossil fuel products as the world transitions to cleaner sources of electricity and fuel in response to the climate crisis. To hedge against shrinking demand from the power and transportation sectors, oil and gas companies are allocating significant resources to boost petrochemical operations. Investors must now ask whether relying on high demand growth assumptions for plastics and other petroleum-based products will indeed pay off or whether the industry’s growing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) issues will continue to plague this attempted shift.

This report explores a range of financial and ESG risks associated with the plastic and petrochemical sectors that are worthy of increased investor scrutiny and engagement in order to assess the petrochemical investment strategies of companies promoting this growth.