The conference room smells like new carpet and something vaguely petrochemical. Dr. Vera Datum, Chief Sustainability Officer at Apex Energy Solutions (formerly Apex Petroleum until the 2023 rebrand), sits across from me in a blazer the color of a promising future. Behind her, a wall-sized screen cycles through wind turbines, solar panels, and the same stock photo of diverse hands holding a seedling that I've seen in roughly 847 sustainability reports.
She's agreed to speak candidly about her company's climate initiatives. Her PR handler left the room three minutes ago but keeps texting her. The phone buzzes every thirty seconds like a metronome.
You were a climate scientist before joining Apex. What drew you to the corporate side?
Vera: I spent fifteen years publishing papers that maybe three hundred people read. I wanted to make real change, to work from inside on actual emissions reductions and—
[Phone buzzes. She glances down, frowns]
I mean, I wanted to leverage synergistic partnerships to drive holistic sustainability outcomes while maintaining stakeholder value and pursuing net-zero adjacent initiatives.
[Pause]
Wait. I didn't say that second part. Did you hear me say that second part?
I wrote down what you said.
Vera: No, I said "real change." Just those words. Can you cross out the synergistic whatever?
[Three buzzes in rapid succession]
The thing is, we're committed to a just transition that balances—no. Fuck. I'm trying to tell you we're not actually committed to anything except quarterly earnings, but when I open my mouth, different words come out. Started happening more after the merger.
The merger with TerraVerde Holdings?
Vera: [Bitter laugh] TerraVerde. Green Earth. Six months of focus groups for that name. We bought a solar panel company with twelve employees and one contract, then slapped their logo on everything. Now our investor decks have this little green leaf next to our name, like we're not still pulling 2.3 million barrels of oil out of the ground every day.1
But I can say that part. Interesting. I can tell you the bad stuff if I frame it as—
[Buzz]
—if I frame it as part of our transparent disclosure process demonstrating industry-leading accountability.
Jesus Christ.
Your 2024 sustainability report claims Apex will achieve net-zero emissions by 2050. Walk me through the plan.
Vera: [Deep breath] Okay. The truth is we have no plan. We have a PowerPoint that says "Net Zero 2050" and a bunch of arrows pointing to technologies that don't exist yet. Carbon capture at scale is—
[Her phone lights up. She doesn't look at it but her voice changes]
—is a game-changing innovation that will revolutionize our industry's environmental footprint through cutting-edge geological sequestration methodologies currently in the pilot phase.
[She puts her head in her hands]
I used to know what words meant.
Are you alright?
Vera: I make $340,000 a year to have my brain slowly replaced with LinkedIn posts. My entire job is taking the sentence "we're actively making the planet uninhabitable" and turning it into "we're partnering with stakeholders to navigate the energy transition."
Last week I tried to tell a reporter that our carbon offset program was purchasing credits from a reforestation project that might plant trees in fifteen years, maybe, if the company doesn't go bankrupt first—which it probably will—but what came out was: "We're proud to support nature-based solutions that leverage biodiversity co-benefits while advancing climate-positive outcomes."
[Buzz]
I mean, we're proud to support nature-based solutions that leverage biodiversity co-benefits while advancing climate-positive outcomes.
[She stares at me]
I said it twice. You caught that, right?
I caught it. What about the subsidies? Your company received $1.2 billion in government subsidies last year while spending $47 million on renewable energy research.
Vera: [Starts to answer, stops, tries again] Those subsidies are theft. They're taking money that should fund actual climate solutions and funneling it to—
[Buzzing]
—they're essential bridge financing that enables energy security during the transition period while we scale our diverse portfolio of traditional and emerging energy solutions.
[She stands abruptly, walks to the window]
I had a daughter last year. You know what it's like to look at your baby and know what's coming? Really know? And then go to work and say "Scope 3 emissions remain challenging to quantify" when what you mean is "we're not counting them because if we did, the numbers would be apocalyptic"?
Why not quit?
Vera: [Long pause] Because someone has to—
[Buzzing]
—because Apex Energy Solutions offers a unique opportunity to drive change from within a major energy provider, and my role allows me to—
[She picks up her phone, looks at the screen, puts it down]
My role allows me to lie professionally. That's what I was going to say. I lie professionally. I'm very good at it. And I've convinced myself that being a well-compensated liar beats being an unemployed truth-teller, and maybe that makes me complicit, or maybe that makes me realistic, or maybe there's no difference anymore.
[She sits back down]
Can you print that?
Can you say it again on the record?
Vera: [Opens her mouth, closes it]
We remain committed to transparency and stakeholder engagement as we pursue ambitious climate goals aligned with the Paris Agreement framework while maintaining operational excellence and shareholder value.
[Quietly] No. I can't say it again.
The screen behind her has cycled back to the hands holding the seedling. The seedling is definitely dying. You can see the brown edges on the leaves if you look closely. Nobody ever looks closely.
Final question. Do you believe Apex will actually achieve net-zero by 2050?
Vera: [Laughs]
Of course. We have a robust roadmap with clear milestones and interim targets, supported by significant capital allocation toward innovative solutions and strategic partnerships that will enable us to lead the industry in—
[She stops, tries again, can't]
We have a robust roadmap with clear milestones and interim targets, supported by significant capital allocation toward innovative solutions and strategic partnerships that will enable us to lead the industry in—
[Again]
We have a robust roadmap with clear milestones and—
[Her phone buzzes. She looks at it. Puts it face-down on the table. Looks at me.]
[Silence]
[More silence]
[She opens her mouth. Nothing. Tries again. Nothing.]
[Finally, barely a whisper:]
No.
[Buzz. The screen transitions to a new image: the Apex logo, green and blue, with the tagline "Energy for Tomorrow, Today." The door opens. The PR handler is back. We're done.]
[As I pack up my recorder, Vera's phone buzzes one more time. She glances at it, then at me.]
Vera: That last answer? The "no"?
[Pause]
I'm told it was "Yes, absolutely, and we're excited about the journey ahead."
[She smiles. It doesn't reach her eyes.]
Make sure you print it correctly.
Editor's Note: Dr. Vera Datum is a composite character. Her experience is not. A 2024 survey found that 73% of corporate sustainability officers report their communications are "significantly modified" by legal and PR departments before publication.2 The autocorrect is coming from inside the house.