Aramco to set up $1.5bn sustainability fund

Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco) has announced it will set up a $1.5bn sustainability fund to invest in technology that supports a stable and inclusive energy transition.

Unveiled at the sixth edition of the Future Investment Initiative, the fund is among the largest sustainability-focused venture capital funds globally, according to a statement published by the company.

Managed by Aramco Ventures, the venture capital arm of Aramco, the fund plans to invest in technologies that support the company’s announced net-zero 2050 ambition in its wholly-owned operational assets, as well as the development of new lower-carbon fuels.

Its initial focus areas will include carbon capture and storage, greenhouse gas emissions, energy efficiency, nature-based climate solutions, digital sustainability, hydrogen, ammonia and synthetic fuels. The fund will target investments globally.

In addition, Aramco’s wholly-owned subsidiary Aramco Trading Company has participated in the first voluntary carbon credits auction organised by the Public Investment Fund (PIF). It follows the signing of a memorandum of understanding between Aramco and PIF earlier this year, to participate in a regional voluntary carbon market to be launched in Saudi Arabia in 2023.

Aramco president and CEO, Amin H Nasser, said: “The Sustainability Fund reinforces our commitment to leverage innovative technologies that will make a difference in addressing the dual challenge of achieving greater energy security and sustainability, and show how these two great imperatives can and must co-exist. Our participation in the MENA region’s first voluntary carbon market in Saudi Arabia represents another pathway towards our long-term net-zero ambition and demonstrates how we can deliver a multi-pronged approach in addressing the climate challenges we face.”

In June, the company also announced a set of interim targets that it aims to achieve by 2035, which are intended to reduce or mitigate net Scope 1 and Scope 2 GHG emissions across its wholly-owned operated assets by more than 50 million metric tonnes of CO2e annually when compared to the business-as-usual forecast.

In other news, Aramco recently announced the launch of a new programme ‘Taleed’, which aims to accelerate the growth of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Saudi Arabia and help boost their contribution to economic development and support job creation.

Read: Aramco launches Taleed to accelerate SME growth in Saudi Arabia