Neptune Energy workers have been left “shocked and dismayed” after charity Save the Children rejected a $1 million donation for Ukraine from the oil and gas firm.
The charity rebuffed the North Sea producer two weeks ago because the charity is “committed to working on climate change issues”.
Neptune Energy sent a letter, seen by Energy Voice, saying Save the Children had been “short sighted in the extreme” and instead donated $2m to support Ukraine via the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Rescue Committee.
The company has among the lowest production emissions in the North Sea. It also recently announced that it would store more emissions than it emits by 2030 using carbon capture technology.
Neptune Energy questioned the decision from Save the Children, adding that the charity had been chosen as it was on the wishes of its workers.
The letter to the charity from Neptune said workers were left “shocked, dismayed and left wondering whether their own personal donations will no longer be welcomed by Save the Children”.
It states: “This decision does not seem to align with the guidance we can identify within your policy documents, seems to have been arrived at without even minimal scrutiny of who Neptune Energy is and what we do, and appears short-sighted in the extreme, given the urgent needs of those your charity is seeking to support.”
The letter goes on to say that the charity shouldn’t decline donations which could make a “material difference” to its stated aim where “every child has a chance of the future they deserve”.
Save the Children said it would consider a donation for its Children’s Emergency Fund, because it could be used for a crisis which has little money available.
The charity’s board includes vice-chairman and PWC partner Richard Winter, which advises oil and gas companies, as well as Anne Fahy who worked for BP for 27 years.
A spokesman for Save the Children said: ‘We decided earlier this month that we would stop taking donations as soon as possible from companies whose core business is in fossil fuels.
“The only exception during a transitional period before this policy comes into force would be a large donation to our flexible Children’s Emergency Fund.
“The reason is that this could be used in a crisis for which relatively little money is available, such as in the Horn of Africa.
“We’ve changed our policy following a lead given by children all over the world who have protested about the threat the climate crisis poses to their future.”
,