Occidental Petroleum Wants to Be ‘Part of the Solution’ on Climate Change

Speaking with Fortune’s Susie Gharib about President Trump’s decision to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, Vicki Hollub says she doesn’t “get caught up in the politics” of the debate.

“As a socially-responsible company we’ve got to do the right thing,” explains Hollub who presides over one of America’s major oil companies with revenues of more than $10 billion, ranking 278 on this year’s Fortune 500. “And what we’re trying to do is to continue to reduce our emissions. We’ve been successful in doing that in the past few years.”

One way Occidental is accomplishing those environmental goals is by using a technique called “enhanced oil recovery.” It involves reusing CO₂ to extract more oil from tapped-out oil wells. This new process is considered environmentally friendly because while it increases oil production, while reducing carbon emissions.

Hollub says Occidental is trying to “help to be part of the solution” and continues to finance research to uncover other innovations to preserve the environment. In an ironic twist to President Trump’s abandonment of the Paris accord, Hollub says Occidental is actually more determined to speed up its environmental goals.

“We’ve been inspired to do more already,” she says. “We have a determination to make an impact in this area. We think it will make Occidental unique in that we’re being very proactive and progressive.”