In August, Williams announced a climate commitment to focus on a 56% absolute reduction from 2005 levels in greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2030. That puts the company on a path to net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Alan Armstrong, President and CEO of Williams, recently joined S&P Global reporter Allison Good on her podcast Energy Evolution to discuss more about the “right here, right now” approach Williams is taking towards net zero emissions.

“The goals we have and the plans that we have for 2030 are very certain. We have very clearly identified actions on how we get there. We actually think it’s more important in terms of greenhouse gas emissions – we actually chose this 2030 goal specifically because it’s something this management team can be held accountable to, and it’s not something that is relying on technology that doesn’t exist or other factors that are not in our control in the future,” Armstrong said.

Armstrong also noted that in his long tenure with Williams, the company has been focused on handling sustainability the right way, with the long-term shareholder in mind. That includes supporting Colorado State University’s Methane Emissions Technology Evaluation Center and working with the Energy Infrastructure Council on a suggested set of standards for all the midstream companies to utilize for measurement around long-term sustainability within the industry.

“Our goal one was to start telling what we are doing and our goal two was to bring forth a meaningful set of standards that really holds people accountable within the midstream industry to the things that the investors are really concerned about,” Armstrong said.

In the conversation, Armstrong also discussed how renewable energy plays a future role in midstream. You can learn more and listen to the podcast here.