Tensions flared early Tuesday morning at the ConocoPhillips 2025 board meeting when CFACT’s Nate Myers posed a pointed question to Chairman and CEO Ryan Lance regarding the connection between DEI/ESG score compliance and executive board compensation. As one of the world’s largest oil and gas companies—specializing in exploration and production—ConocoPhillips operates in 14 countries and reported an impressive average output of 2.4 million barrels of oil per day in the first quarter of 2025.
Despite their impressively diverse and globe-spanning corporate representation, ConocoPhillips still feels the need to bend the knee and align itself with DEI and ESG compliance frameworks. Regularly reporting its ESG metric compliance to watchdog organizations and utilizing a “DEI Council” that “plays a key role in setting corporate DEI priorities,” the company sadly makes political bias and racial prejudice their standard operating procedure.
Seeking clarity on the reasoning behind the company’s questionable practices, CFACT’s Mr. Myers submitted the following question: “Does executive compensation include ESG or DEI performance metrics? If so, what protections are in place to ensure those metrics are tied to real business outcomes—not just scoring points with politically motivated proxy advisors?”
Choosing to respond to a summarized and somewhat vaguer version of the question, CEO Ryan Lance responded with the following statement: “We closely monitor changes in laws and policies to ensure our full compliance while upholding our core values and commitments to our workforce. While there’s been a lot in the news recently about DEI, our practices at ConocoPhillips have always been rooted in our shared values. These values help to cultivate an inclusive environment where everyone can contribute to promoting innovation and leading to better business outcomes. This helps us attract a better workforce equipped to address new opportunities and new challenges we face in a complex industry. We plan to continue to operate in accordance with those spirited values.”
Though lengthy and flowery, Mr. Lance’s response failed to address the heart of CFACT’s question: the link between DEI/ESG metrics and executive compensation. Rather than offering clarity, his remarks appeared scripted, sidestepping concerns about political bias in corporate governance. Notably, while Mr. Lance claimed that DEI practices have long been part of ConocoPhillips’ culture, public records show that the company’s “DEI Council” was only established in 2020—suggesting a relatively recent shift towards forced diversity benchmarks.
In response to a separate inquiry, Mr. Lance also confirmed that the company plans to continue its carbon capture initiatives for the foreseeable future.
CFACT will continue monitoring ConocoPhillips’ corporate activities and will provide updates as new developments emerge.
Featured image Paxson Woelber Creative Commons 3.0