Leading corporates have backed a new framework for ESG standard of sustainable growth, at a high-level conference in London where the challenge of meeting climate and ethnical standards was debated.
The importance making correct choices on Environmental, Social, and Governance standards was underlined by the governor of the Saudi Public Investment Fund, Yasir Al Rumayyan, who addressed the gathering.
“The problem we have faced over the last few years is that people have wanted to switch on and off from the carbon/fossil fuel economy to the renewable,” he said. “We just can't do it — you can't just turn on and off the switch.
“It's a process that we need to take forward. The net-zero ambition is not just a planet imperative, it is a business imperative.”
Giving an example of how Saudi Arabia's state oil producer had reduced its carbon footprint through tackling flaring a decade earlier than its rivals, Mr Al Rumayyan said that was a process that was continuing with new investment streams.
“We are investing in renewable, we're investing in carbon capture and storage, we are becoming a pioneer there and I think this will lead us to blue hydrogen. We will be the major player in the world when it comes to blue hydrogen.”
Blue hydrogen is fuel produced from natural gas through a process in which natural gas is mixed with very hot steam.
Noel Quinn, the head of HSBC, observed that businesses were under great pressure to take brave decisions but that the role of regulation was key. He pointed to a recent G7 communique on sustainability in aviation and the knock-on effect of setting a clear goal.
“One sentence in a communique collectively can create a demand,” he said.
“A demand signal can be written in one sentence and that for the aviation industry was about sustainable aviation fuel as 10 per cent of the fuel mix by 2030. That demand signal then creates a supply of finance. Not all policy requires money — some policy requires sentiment.”
Bertie Whitehead, the managing director of UK investment banking with Goldman Sachs pointed to the power of governance standards in the wake of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, where companies wrote off billion-dollar investments even before the sanctions noose was tightened.
“You saw leadership at the start by number of companies that [declared], 'I want to exit Russia and Belarus.' Then you saw societal and indeed consumer pressure coming through, there were a couple of automakers where they started getting action put on them with tweets or Instagrams and they ended up changing their ways.
“This is a real life action of trying to preserve [corporate] value through values and a lot of the decisions were being made were that was actually better for my standing as a company to listen to what my customers want, to listen to what I feel as a company and exit at a risk to a balance sheet that in many instances is as well reported, at a significant cost to the company but overall preserving market value.”
Richard Attais, the head of the FII Institute, noted that only a small proportion of the ESG fund available annually was directed towards the world's developing countries, which represent 86 per cent of the population and currently 58 per cent of gross domestic product.
New measures of ESG performance could unlock those funds for developing economies. The framework backed by FII Institute rests on four points: key performance indexes tailored for emerging economies, performance thresholds set for developing economies, scorecards based on change delivered not volume of data and measured against sectoral challenges not national performance.
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Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
Dhadak
Director: Shashank Khaitan
Starring: Janhvi Kapoor, Ishaan Khattar, Ashutosh Rana
Stars: 3
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
Company%20profile
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10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
What is 'Soft Power'?
Soft power was first mentioned in 1990 by former US Defence Secretary Joseph Nye.
He believed that there were alternative ways of cultivating support from other countries, instead of achieving goals using military strength.
Soft power is, at its root, the ability to convince other states to do what you want without force.
This is traditionally achieved by proving that you share morals and values.
if you go
