We are committed to providing a rewarding and productive work experience where all of our employees can thrive. We believe diversity in the workforce makes us better, helps to promote our culture, and helps us to more effectively and responsibly conduct our business.
Whether it’s our comprehensive compensation and healthcare programs, employee development opportunities, a flexible, hybrid work schedule, or our sense of connection and community, employees are proud to work for SM Energy. The company is committed to continuous improvement and employees have a voice through the bi-annual employee engagement survey. We strongly encourage volunteerism and community involvement, giving back to the communities where we live and work. The company provides company grant time for volunteering and has a generous matching program, which extends the impact of employees’ giving efforts.
We empower employees to keep the environment and each other safe.
We conduct our business in a manner that focuses on protecting the health and safety of all, adhering to high ethical standards, complying with applicable laws and regulations, and committing to operational excellence.
We have a “Stop Work Authority” directive at all of our sites that empowers any employee or contractor to stop any work they believe is being conducted in an unsafe manner. Our facilities are regularly inspected by SM Energy employees and consultants, and periodically by regulatory officials. The company conducts internal and independent third-party regulatory audits to ensure compliance with applicable regulatory requirements and best practices.
We conduct recurring and real-time Environmental, Health, and Safety (EHS) meetings with our employees and contractors to help ensure compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and Company EHS policies. We strive to achieve performance excellence in EHS management, and compensation of all employees is tied to annual EHS performance goals set by our Board of Directors.
We track and record our employee and contractor total recordable incident rate (TRIR) and benchmark our performance against American Exploration & Production Council peer companies and the Permian Basin Petroleum Association peer companies. We use TRIR as one indicator of safety performance and expect our contractors to maintain their safety performance to the same levels we expect in our EHS program. We review safety performance with our employees and Board of Directors at least quarterly.
We strive to work with contractors who share our commitment to health and safety and the proper stewardship of shared natural resources. SM Energy uses ISNetworld (ISN) to facilitate the collection, maintenance, and verification of contractor information. Contractors are required to submit their safety and training programs, safety performance data, and proof of insurance information to ISN, who independently verifies the information.
We expect all of our contractors to comply with their respective EHS programs, state and federal regulations, and to respect our safety culture and core values. Contractors are graded on the strength of their EHS management systems and training programs, as well as their performance. To help ensure that contractors implement their respective safety programs and provide proper training, we conduct periodic audits of a sampling of our contractors at both the corporate and field level.
Our emergency management framework consists of Emergency Response Action Plans, Business Continuity Plans and a Corporate Emergency Plan. SM Energy’s preparedness framework seeks to:
Our incident response plans are aligned with the National Incident Management System guidelines and consider impacts beyond the immediate incident. We routinely conduct training drills that include tabletop and field-based scenarios to test our emergency preparedness. These drills are specifically designed for each department. Additionally, we often include local first responders and law enforcement in our drills to improve emergency responsiveness.
An important part of our corporate purpose and culture is to have a positive impact in the communities where we live and work. We believe that open, honest dialogue with all stakeholders helps make us a good neighbor. SM Energy is committed to building and maintaining relationships with our stakeholders by investing in and connecting with these communities. By proactively engaging with local officials, landowners, and emergency responders, we seek to quickly identify and address concerns related to our operations and to support and improve the communities where we operate.
Developing effective partnerships with organizations and our neighbors helps us to better serve the communities where we live and work. We are proud of the employee-led charitable giving programs that help us realize this vision.
SM Energy employees volunteer thousands of hours to the many charitable organizations SM Energy and our employees support. Our employees volunteer at numerous charities throughout the communities in which we live and work. Each year, an employee may use up to 12 hours of company-granted time to volunteer.
We support education programs that focus on science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), while encouraging students to pursue higher education. SM Energy continues to be the headline sponsor of the Texas Tech University Whitacre College of Engineering’s Robotics Program, which is a partnership that helps cultivate an interest in STEM studies and careers throughout West Texas.
In addition to the robotics program, SM Energy works closely with school districts in and around the Midland and Big Spring communities to implement STEM and robotics programming in local middle and high schools. SM Energy also supports STEM scholarship programs for local schools.
SM Energy funds a summer STEM program through Southwest Texas Junior College in which 25 students are afforded the opportunity to attend an 8-week engineering internship. In addition to funding, SM Energy employees will volunteer their time to provide presentations and educational sessions throughout the program.
Our Denver office partners with Junior Achievement to teach K-12 students to be financially responsible, entrepreneurial, and career-ready by giving them a realistic view of the working world. SM Energy employees participate in a number of programs during the year that are designed to help students explore the role that financial investment plays in their families and communities.
We support organizations and programs that focus on community health and wellness and place special emphasis on family and wellness initiatives as well as occupational health programs. SM Energy proudly partners with United Way to serve the needs of communities, and each fall, SM Energy hosts an employee giving campaign supporting United Way chapters in Metro Denver, Houston, Midland, and Laredo.
In 2023, we received the Mile High United Way Social Impact Award. This award recognizes SM Energy as a corporate partner that prioritizes corporate responsibility in their community engagement strategy and engages with Mile High United Way year-round to inspire employees to give, volunteer, advocate, and lead. SM Energy also received the United Way of Midland Business United Circle Award for the third consecutive year.
We focus our investment efforts in civic and community organizations that serve critical social needs and enhance social and economic conditions.
SM Energy has a longstanding partnership with Habitat for Humanity, which began in 2000 in the Metro Denver community. Since then, the company has donated over a million dollars and has sponsored the building of nearly 20 new homes, providing affordable housing as well as increasing stability and self-reliance for future homeowners. Employees have donated thousands of hours assisting with the construction of these homes. Beginning in 2019, SM Energy began working with Habitat for Humanity in Laredo, Texas, and was awarded their Volunteer Group of the Year award in 2021.
SM Energy is a proud supporter of local law enforcement, first responders, and our nation’s veterans. We support many events and organizations, including:
Freedom Service Dogs: an organization that trains service dogs for veterans who have experienced challenges as a result of serving our country.
Show of Support: an organization that provides support and outdoor adventures to veterans who were injured while serving.
Bustin’ for Badges: an event raising funds in support of the Midland and Odessa police departments and Midland and Ector counties sheriff’s departments.
Howard County Volunteer Fire Department: provided donations to help with the cost of equipment and upgrades.
