From Barrels to Balance Sheets: The Role of Accounting in Saudi Aramco’s Sustainability Strategy to Net-Zero

This chapter provides a comprehensive analysis of Saudi Aramco’s sustainability accounting practices and offers insights into how the world’s largest integrated oil and gas company manages the challenges of environmental responsibility and energy transition. Through a multi-faceted examination of Aramco’s strategies, the study explores the intersection of sustainability, technology, and corporate governance in the oil and gas sector. The research employs a mixed-method approach by combining qualitative analysis of corporate reports with quantitative text analysis using Natural Language Processing (NLP) techniques. It examines Aramco’s carbon accounting framework, ESG integration, and technological innovations in sustainability reporting. The study also presents a comparative analysis with other major players like ADNOC and ExxonMobil to highlight industry trends and best practices. Theoretical perspectives, including legitimacy, stakeholder, and institutional theories, are applied to interpret Aramco’s actions that reveal complex and sometimes contradictory forces shaping its sustainability strategy. Key findings indicate Aramco’s significant strides in integrating advanced technologies such as AI, blockchain, and IIoT into its sustainability accounting, improving data accuracy and reporting reliability. The company’s multi-tiered ESG governance structure demonstrates a commitment to embedding sustainability at all decision-making levels. However, the lack of comprehensive Scope 3 emissions reporting remains a notable gap. The chapter concludes by discussing implications for industry and policymakers.