We operate some of the most complex industrial assets in the world, supplying the essential materials that modern life depends upon – chemicals, polymers, fuels and energy that underpin healthcare, clean water, food production, housing, transport, renewable power and advanced manufacturing.
Sustainability at INEOS starts with a simple premise: there is no sustainable future without a strong, competitive industrial base. Industry must be safe, it must be efficient, and it must be economically viable. Climate ambition that ignores affordability, security of supply or industrial reality is not a solution; it is a slogan. At INEOS, we do not pursue sustainability as an exercise in virtue.
We pursue it as an engineering challenge, a safety obligation and a long-term business imperative.
Safety first
Safety is a condition of operating at INEOS. Our work carries real risks, and managing them demands rigour, discipline and vigilance. Across our operations worldwide, safety is embedded through clear rules, strong leadership and personal accountability. Our Life Saving Rules, behavioural and process safety principles, site-level audits and mandatory training exist to ensure that everyone who works at INEOS goes home safely.
This approach applies equally to employees and contractors. Safety performance is reviewed routinely by site management, business boards and group leadership, and it directly influences remuneration. Where incidents occur, they are investigated thoroughly, lessons are shared openly, and systems are strengthened. There is no tradeoff between safety and performance. In reality, operational excellence and safety are inseparable.
Our culture: grit, rigour and humour
INEOS is an industrial company with a strong and distinctive culture. Three central values define how we operate.
Rigour means doing things properly. We rely on science, data and engineering judgement, not shortcuts. Whether managing safety, energy efficiency, emissions or water use, we apply clear standards and expect them to be met. We measure performance, audit it, and hold people accountable. This same discipline underpins how we report – our sustainability data is collected from sites worldwide, subject to internal controls and independently assured.
Grit reflects resilience and determination. Industrial transformation is difficult. Reducing emissions from complex, long-lived assets takes time, capital and persistence – especially in volatile markets. INEOS continues to invest through downturns, upgrading existing plants, developing new technologies and backing projects such as Project One, that materially reduce emissions while keeping our businesses competitive. Progress is rarely linear, but we stay focused on delivery rather than declarations.
Humour matters too. Industry is demanding, and we believe people perform best in organisations that value humanity as well as high standards. INEOS is direct, unbureaucratic and empowered. We expect challenge, debate and ownership, and we value teams that can work hard, respect one another and enjoy the job. Culture is not an accessory to sustainability; it is what makes consistent performance possible over decades.
Sustainable industry must be commercially viable
INEOS operates in global, competitive markets. Our customers rely on us for products that perform consistently, at scale and at a price that keeps entire value chains viable. That reality shapes our approach to sustainability.
Decarbonisation that destroys competitiveness simply shifts production, and emissions elsewhere. Real progress comes from investing in better assets, improving efficiency, switching energy sources, developing circular feedstocks and capturing carbon where emissions cannot be eliminated at source. These actions reduce emissions while strengthening industrial supply chains.
This philosophy is reflected in our major investments. Project ONE in Antwerp represents a once-in-a-generation renewal of European chemical infrastructure, designed to be the most energy-efficient ethylene cracker in the region, with significantly lower carbon intensity than existing assets. Project Greensand demonstrates how carbon capture and storage can become a safe, scalable and commercial solution for hardto- abate emissions, supporting not just INEOS but wider European industry.
Across our businesses, we are switching to cleaner power through long-term supply agreements, improving energy efficiency through optimisation, incorporating recycled and biogenic feedstocks, and developing new circular products. Each project is assessed against technical feasibility, safety, cost and long-term value, not headlines.
INEOS makes products that are essential to modern life, many of which play a critical role in the energy transition itself: lightweight materials that reduce fuel use, polymers for renewable infrastructure, insulation that lowers heating demand, electrolysis systems for hydrogen production, and materials that enable carbon capture.
To highlight this, our sustainability report is structured around the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, using them as a practical framework to describe where INEOS has the greatest impact.
We focus on the goals most relevant to our operations and value chains, linking global ambition to measurable actions delivered through safe, commercially viable industry.