On Social Media.

This is a fascinating post from the Total CEO Patrick Pouyanne and some biting comments about how big business should / shouldn’t react to war. TotalEnergies isn’t abandoning Russia like other companies because that would hurt its customers.

Comments range from:

Sorry, Patrick Pouyanné. Time and again, you pick profits over morals as your primary responsibility to your shareholders. Shame on you for failing to reject evil.

to

Very well stated Patrick. Thanks for your leadership especially in the face of this complex and dynamic situation……..energy just as water will always remain [a] potential weapon. Sanctions are easy to announce but often implementation comes with unintended consequences.

Here is a snip of Pouyanne’s Post

Patrick Pouyanné • Chairman and CEO at TotalEnergies — 1d • Edited • 1 day ago

Responsibility requires us to seek answers to complex, sometimes dramatic, situations.  
 
We are all deeply affected by the conflict in #Ukraine and I believe we will face it by coming together, and weighing our decisions, rather than with loud statements and insults. I will never accept comments that cast doubt on our corporate values or on the daily efforts of our 100,000 employees worldwide.  
 
Indeed, the energy issue is particularly complex. We can’t just say “let’s pull out of Russia” before having found an alternative which guarantees a secure energy supply at an acceptable cost for our customers, while respecting our contractual and sustainable development commitments. We can’t make hasty decisions without identifying their consequences. In the current context, that means working with European governments to provide them with the #energy they need.  
 
With the utmost transparency, we have restated the principles guiding our action during the conflict in Ukraine, in order to inform discussions of the ongoing situation: https://lnkd.in/dn6K5Zp3 “

Check it out