Our compensation philosophy and related governance features are summarized below.

Why did I receive these proxy materials?

We are providing these proxy materials in connection with the solicitation by the Board of Directors of ONEOK, Inc. of proxies to be voted at our 2019 annual meeting of shareholders and at any adjournment or postponement of the meeting. You are invited to attend our annual meeting of shareholders on May 22, 2019, at 9:00 a.m., Central Daylight Time. The meeting will be held at our company headquarters at ONEOK Plaza, 100 West Fifth Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma. For directions to the meeting, please visit our website at www.oneok.com or www.proxydocs.com/oke.

Who is soliciting my proxy?

Our Board of Directors is sending you this proxy statement in connection with its solicitation of proxies for use at our 2019 annual meeting of shareholders. Certain of our directors, officers and employees also may solicit proxies on our behalf in person or by mail, telephone, fax or email.

Who may attend and vote at the annual meeting?

All shareholders who held shares of our common stock at the close of business on March 25, 2019, may attend and vote at the meeting. If your shares are held in the name of a broker, bank, trustee or other holder of record, often referred to as being held “in street name,” bring a copy of your brokerage account statement or a voting instruction card, which you may obtain from your broker, bank, trustee or other holder of record of your shares.

Please note: no cameras, recording equipment, large bags, briefcases or packages will be permitted in the meeting.

Will the annual meeting be webcast?

Our annual meeting also will be webcast on May 22, 2019. You are invited to visit www.oneok.com at 9:00 a.m., Central Daylight Time, on May 22, 2019, to access the webcast of the meeting. Registration for the webcast is required. An archived copy of the webcast also will be available on our website for 30 days following the meeting.

How do I cast my vote?

If you were a shareholder of record at the close of business on the record date of March 25, 2019, you have the right to vote the shares you held of record that day in person at the meeting or you may appoint a proxy through the internet, by telephone or by mail to vote your shares on your behalf. The internet and telephone methods of voting generally are available 24 hours a day and will ensure that your proxy is confirmed and posted immediately. These methods of voting are also available to shareholders who hold their shares in our Direct Stock Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plan, our Employee Stock Purchase Plan, our 401(k) Plan, which now includes our former Profit Sharing Plan as one of its features effective as of January 1, 2019 (collectively, the “401(K) Plan”).

You may revoke your proxy any time before the annual meeting by following the procedures outlined below under the caption “What can I do if I change my mind after I vote my shares?”

Please help us save time and postage costs by appointing a proxy via the internet or by telephone.

When you appoint a proxy via the internet, by telephone or by mailing a signed proxy card, you are appointing John W. Gibson, Chairman of the Board, and Stephen B. Allen, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, as your representatives at the annual meeting, and they will vote your shares as you have instructed them. If you appoint a proxy via the internet, by telephone or by mailing a signed proxy card but do not provide voting instructions, your shares will be voted FOR the election of each proposed director nominee named in this proxy statement and FOR Proposals 2 and 3.

To appoint a proxy to vote your shares on your behalf, please select from the following options:

Voting Options

		By Mail
		•  Mark your selections on the proxy card.   •  Date and sign your name exactly as it appears on your proxy card.   •  Mail the proxy card in the enclosed postage-paid envelope.   •  If mailed, your completed and signed proxy card must be received prior to the commencement of voting at the annual meeting.

What if my shares are held by my broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary?

If your shares are held in a brokerage account or by a bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary, your shares are considered to be held “in street name.” If you held shares in street name as of the record date of March 25, 2019, this proxy statement and our 2018 annual report to shareholders should have been forwarded to you by your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary, together with a voting

instruction card. You have the right to direct your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary how to vote your shares by using the voting instruction card or by following any instructions provided by your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary for voting via the internet or telephone.

Under the rules of the NYSE, unless you provide your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary with your instructions on how to vote your shares, your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary will only be permitted to vote your shares on the ratification of the selection of our independent registered public accounting firm (Proposal 2) and will not be able to vote your shares on any of the other matters to be presented at the annual meeting. Consequently, unless you respond to their request for your voting instructions in a timely manner, your shares held by your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary will not be voted on any of these other matters (which is referred to as a “broker non-vote”).

Please provide your voting instructions to your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary so that your shares may be voted.

What can I do if I change my mind after I vote my shares?

If you were a shareholder of record at the close of business on the record date, you have the right to revoke your proxy at any time before it is voted at the meeting by:

If your shares are held in a brokerage account or by a bank or other similar fiduciary, you may revoke any voting instructions you may have previously provided only in accordance with revocation instructions provided by your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary.

Is my vote confidential?

Proxy cards, ballots and voting tabulations that identify individual shareholders are mailed and returned directly to our stock transfer agent who is responsible for tabulating the vote in a manner that protects your voting privacy. It is our policy to protect the confidentiality of shareholder votes throughout the voting process. The vote of any shareholder will not be disclosed to our directors, officers or employees, except

The vote tabulator and the inspector of election has been, and will remain, independent of us. This policy does not prohibit shareholders from disclosing the nature of their votes to our directors, officers or employees, or prevent us from voluntarily communicating with our shareholders, ascertaining which shareholders have voted or making efforts to encourage shareholders to vote.

Who will count the vote?

Representatives of our stock transfer agent, Equiniti Trust Company, will tabulate the votes and act as the inspector of the election.

How is common stock held in our 401(k) Plan voted?

In order to vote shares of our common stock held through our 401(k) Plan, you must instruct the trustee of the 401(k) Plan, Fidelity Management Trust Company, how to vote those shares by providing your instructions via the internet, by telephone or by mail in the manner outlined above. If you fail to provide your instructions or if you return an instruction card with an unclear voting designation or with no voting designation at all, then the trustee will vote the shares in your account in proportion to the way the other participants in the 401(k) Plan vote their shares. These votes receive the same confidentiality as all other shares voted.

To allow sufficient time for voting by the trustee of our 401(k) Plan, your voting instructions must be received by May 19, 2019.

How will shares for which a proxy is appointed be voted on any other business conducted at the annual meeting that is not described in this proxy statement?

Although we do not know of any business to be considered at the 2019 annual meeting other than the proposals described in this proxy statement, if any other business is properly presented at the annual meeting, your proxy gives authority to John W. Gibson, Chairman of the Board, and Stephen B. Allen, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Assistant Secretary, to vote on these matters at their discretion.

What shares are included on the proxy card(s)?

The shares included on your proxy card(s) represent all of the shares that you owned of record as of the close of business on March 25, 2019, including those shares held in our Direct Stock Purchase and Dividend Reinvestment Plan and Employee Stock Purchase Plan, but excluding any shares held for your account by Fidelity Management Trust Company, as trustee for our 401(k) Plan. If you do not authorize a proxy via the internet, by telephone or by mail, your shares, except for those shares held in our 401(k) Plan, will not be voted. Please refer to the discussion above for an explanation of the voting procedures for your shares held by our 401(k) Plan, including its profit sharing feature.

What does it mean if I receive more than one proxy card?

If your shares are registered differently and are in more than one account, you will receive more than one proxy card. Please sign and return all proxy cards, or appoint a proxy via the internet or telephone, to ensure that all your shares are voted. We encourage you to have all accounts registered in the same name and address whenever possible.

Why did we receive just one copy of the proxy statement and annual report when we have more than one stock account in our household?

We have adopted a procedure approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission called “householding.” This procedure permits us to send a single copy of the proxy statement and annual report to a household if the shareholders provide written or implied consent. Shareholders continue to receive a separate proxy card for each stock account. We previously mailed a notice to eligible registered shareholders stating our intent to utilize this rule unless the shareholder provided an objection.

If you are a registered shareholder and received only one copy of the proxy statement and annual report in your household, we will promptly deliver copies, to the extent you request them, for each member of your household who was a registered shareholder as of the record date. You may make this request by calling EQ Shareowner Services at 1-866-235-0232 or by providing written instructions to EQ Shareowner Services, Attn: Householding/ONEOK, Inc., P.O. Box 64854, St. Paul, Minnesota 55164-0854. You also may contact EQ Shareowner Services in the same manner if you are currently receiving a single copy of the proxy statement and annual report in your household and desire to receive separate copies in the future for each member of your household who is a registered shareholder or if your household is currently receiving multiple copies of the proxy statement and annual report and you desire to receive a single copy in the future for your entire household.

If you are not a registered shareholder and your shares are held by a broker, bank, trustee or other holder of record, you will need to contact that entity to revoke your election and receive multiple copies of these documents.

Is there a list of shareholders entitled to vote at the annual meeting?

The names of shareholders of record entitled to vote at the annual meeting will be available at the annual meeting and for 10 days prior to the meeting for any purpose relevant to the meeting between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. CDT at our principal executive offices at 100 West Fifth Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma, and may be viewed by contacting our corporate secretary.

May I access the notice of annual meeting, proxy statement, 2018 annual report and accompanying documents on the internet?

The notice of annual meeting, proxy statement, 2018 annual report and accompanying documents are currently available on our website at www.oneok.com.

Additionally, in accordance with rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission, you may access this proxy statement, our 2018 annual report and any other proxy materials we use at www.proxydocs.com/oke.

Instead of receiving future copies of our proxy and annual report materials by mail, shareholders may elect to receive an email that

will provide electronic links to these proxy and annual report materials. Opting to receive your proxy materials online will save us the cost of producing and mailing documents to your home or business and also will give you an electronic link to the proxy voting site. You may log on to www.proxypush.com/oke and follow the prompts to enroll in the electronic proxy delivery service. If you hold your shares in a brokerage account, you also may have the opportunity to receive copies of these documents electronically. Please check the information provided in the proxy materials mailed to you by your broker, bank, trustee or other holder of record of your shares regarding the availability of this service.

What out-of-pocket costs will we incur in soliciting proxies?

Morrow Sodali LLC, 470 West Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut 06902, will assist us in the distribution of proxy materials and solicitation of votes for a fee of $11,000, plus out-of-pocket expenses. We also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for their reasonable expenses for forwarding proxy materials to our shareholders. We will pay all costs of soliciting proxies.

How can I find out the results of the voting at the annual meeting?

Preliminary voting results will be announced at the annual meeting. Voting results will be published in a Current Report on Form 8-K that we will file with the Securities and Exchange Commission within four business days after the annual meeting.

MATTERS TO BE VOTED UPON

At the annual meeting, the following matters will be voted upon:

VOTING

Only shareholders of record at the close of business on March 25, 2019, are entitled to receive notice of and to vote at the annual meeting. As of that date, 412,742,641 shares of our common stock were outstanding. Each outstanding share entitles the holder to one vote on each matter submitted to a vote of shareholders at the meeting.

Shareholders of record may vote in person or by proxy at the annual meeting. All properly submitted proxies received prior to the commencement of voting at the annual meeting will be voted in accordance with the voting instructions contained on the proxy. Shares for which signed proxies are properly submitted without voting instructions will be voted:

While we know of no other matters that are likely to be brought before the meeting, in the event any other business properly comes before the meeting, proxies will be voted in the discretion of the persons named in the proxy. The persons named as proxies were designated by our Board of Directors.

To vote shares held “in street name” through a broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary, a shareholder must provide voting instructions to his or her broker, bank or other similar fiduciary. Brokerage firms, banks, trustees and other similar fiduciaries are required to request voting instructions for shares they hold on behalf of their customers and others. We encourage you to provide

instructions to your brokerage firm, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary on how to vote your shares. If your shares are held “in street name,” to be able to vote those shares in person at the annual meeting, you must obtain a proxy, executed in your favor, from the broker, bank or other similar fiduciary who held those shares as of the close of business on March 25, 2019.

The rules of the NYSE determine whether proposals presented at shareholder meetings are routine or non-routine. If a proposal is routine, a broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary holding shares for an owner in street name may vote for the proposal without receiving voting instructions from the owner under certain circumstances. If a proposal is non-routine, the broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary may vote on the proposal only if the owner has provided voting instructions. A “broker non-vote” occurs when the broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary is unable to vote on a proposal because the proposal is non-routine and the owner does not provide any voting instructions. Under the rules of the NYSE, Proposals 1 and 3 are considered to be non-routine, and Proposal 2 is considered to be routine. Accordingly, if you do not provide voting instructions to your brokerage firm, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary holding your shares, your brokerage firm, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary will not be permitted under the rules of the NYSE to vote your shares on Proposals 1 and 3 and will only be permitted under the rules of the NYSE to vote your shares on Proposal 2 at its discretion.

Please provide your voting instructions to your broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary so that your shares may be voted.

Representatives of our stock transfer agent, Equiniti Trust Company, will be responsible for tabulating and certifying the votes cast at the meeting.

QUORUM

The holders of a majority of the shares entitled to vote at the annual meeting, present in person or by proxy, constitute a quorum for the transaction of business at the annual meeting. In determining whether we have a quorum, we count abstentions and broker non-votes as present.

If a quorum is not present at the scheduled time of the meeting, the shareholders who are present in person or by proxy may adjourn the meeting until a quorum is present. If the time and place of the adjourned meeting are announced at the time the adjournment is taken, no other notice will be given. However, if the adjournment is for more than 30 days, or if a new record date is set for the adjourned meeting, a notice will be given to each shareholder entitled to receive notice of, and to vote at, the meeting.

VOTES REQUIRED

PROPOSAL 1 – Election of Directors.

Our By-laws provide for majority voting for directors in uncontested elections. We expect that the election of directors at our 2019 annual meeting will be uncontested. Under the majority voting standard, the election of directors is decided by the affirmative vote of a majority of the votes cast with respect to that nominee’s election by the shareholders present in person or by proxy at the meeting and entitled to vote for the election of directors. In other words, to be elected a nominee must receive a number of “for” votes that exceeds the number of “against” votes cast with respect to that director’s election. Abstentions and broker non-votes, if any, do not count as “for” or “against” votes cast with respect to the election of directors.

Under Oklahoma law, if an incumbent director who is a nominee does not receive, in an uncontested election, the requisite majority vote to be re-elected at an annual meeting, that director remains in office as a “holdover” director. Accordingly, our corporate governance guidelines require that such a director must promptly, following certification of the shareholder vote, tender his or her resignation to our Board of Directors. The Board (excluding the director who tendered the resignation) will then evaluate the resignation in light of the best interests of our company and our shareholders in determining whether to accept or reject the resignation, or whether other action should be taken. In reaching its decision, the Board may consider any factors it deems relevant, including the director’s qualifications, the director’s past and expected future contributions to the company, the overall composition of the Board and whether accepting the tendered resignation would cause the company to fail to comply with any applicable rule or regulation (including NYSE listing requirements and the federal securities laws). The Board will act on the tendered resignation and publicly disclose its decision and rationale within 90 days following certification of the shareholder vote.

PROPOSAL 2 – Ratification of Selection of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP as our Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm for the Year Ending December 31, 2019.

In accordance with our By-laws, approval of Proposal 2 requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shareholders present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote on each proposal at the meeting. Abstentions will have the same effect as votes against Proposal 2. If you do not provide voting instructions to your

brokerage firm, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary holding your shares, your brokerage firm, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary will be permitted to vote your shares on Proposal 2 at its discretion.

PROPOSAL 3 – Advisory Vote on Executive Compensation.

In accordance with our By-laws, approval of Proposal 3 requires the affirmative vote of a majority of the voting power of the shareholders present in person or by proxy and entitled to vote on each proposal at the meeting. Abstentions will have the same effect as votes against Proposal 3. If you do not provide voting instructions to your brokerage firm, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary holding your shares, your brokerage firm, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary will not be permitted to vote your shares on Proposal 3. Broker non-votes do not count as shares entitled to vote for purposes of determining the outcome of the vote on Proposal 3.

REVOKING A PROXY

Any shareholder may revoke his or her proxy at any time before it is voted at the meeting by (1) notifying our corporate secretary in writing (the mailing address of our corporate secretary is 100 West Fifth Street, Tulsa, Oklahoma 74103), (2) authorizing a later proxy via the internet or by telephone, (3) returning a later dated proxy card, or (4) voting at the meeting in person. A shareholder’s presence without voting at the annual meeting will not automatically revoke a previously delivered proxy and any revocation during the meeting will not affect votes previously taken at the meeting.

If your shares are held in a brokerage account or by a bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary, you may revoke any voting instructions you may have previously provided in accordance with the revocation instructions provided by the broker, bank, trustee or other similar fiduciary.

PROXY SOLICITATION

Solicitation of proxies will be primarily by mail and telephone. We have engaged Morrow Sodali LLC, 470 West Avenue, Stamford, Connecticut 06902, to solicit proxies for a fee of $11,000, plus out-of-pocket expenses. In addition, certain of our officers, directors and employees may solicit proxies on our behalf in person or by mail, telephone, fax or email, for which such persons will receive no additional compensation. We will pay all costs of soliciting proxies. We will also reimburse brokerage firms, banks and other custodians, nominees and fiduciaries for their reasonable expenses for forwarding proxy materials to our shareholders.

Our Corporate Governance Committee engages in a regular process of reviewing our corporate governance practices, including comparing our practices with those recommended by various corporate governance authorities, the expectations of our shareholders and the practices of other leading public companies. Our Corporate Governance Committee also reviews regularly our corporate governance practices in light of proposed and adopted laws and regulations, including the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the rules and listing standards of the NYSE.

CORPORATE GOVERNANCE GUIDELINES

Our Board of Directors has adopted corporate governance guidelines that address key areas of our corporate governance, including: the Board’s mission and responsibilities; Board membership and leadership; the structure and function of the Board’s committees; meetings of the Board and its committees, including attendance requirements and executive sessions; Board compensation; Board and officer share ownership requirements; succession planning; evaluation of the performance of our Board; and Board access to management and independent advisors. Our Board annually reviews our corporate governance guidelines and may revise the guidelines from time to time as conditions warrant. The full text of our corporate governance guidelines is published on and may be printed from our website at www.oneok.com and is also available from our corporate secretary upon request.

CODE OF BUSINESS CONDUCT AND ETHICS

Our Board of Directors has adopted a code of business conduct and ethics that applies to our directors, officers (including our principal executive and financial officers, principal accounting officer, controllers and other persons performing similar functions) and all other employees. We require all directors, officers and employees to adhere to our code of business conduct and ethics in addressing the legal and ethical issues encountered in conducting their work for our company. Our code of business conduct and ethics requires that our directors, officers and employees avoid conflicts of interest, comply with all applicable laws and other legal requirements, conduct business in an honest and ethical manner and otherwise act with integrity and in our company’s best interest. Our code also addresses workplace conduct, including prohibitions on discrimination and workplace harassment. All directors, officers and

employees are required to report any conduct that they believe to be an actual or apparent violation of our code of business conduct and ethics.

The full text of our code of business conduct and ethics is published on and may be printed from our website at www.oneok.com and is also available from our corporate secretary upon request. We intend to disclose on our website any future amendments to, or waivers from, our code of business conduct and ethics, as permitted by the rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission and the listing standards of the NYSE.

DIRECTOR INDEPENDENCE

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that a majority of our Board of Directors will be “independent” under the applicable independence requirements of the NYSE. These guidelines and the rules of the NYSE provide that, in qualifying a director as “independent,” the Board must make an affirmative determination that the director has no material relationship with our company, either directly or as a partner, shareholder or officer of an organization that has a relationship with our company. In making this determination with respect to each director serving on the Executive Compensation Committee, under the rules of the NYSE, the Board is required to consider all factors specifically relevant to determining whether the director has a relationship to our company which is material to that director’s ability to be independent from management in connection with the duties of a member of that committee.

Our Board of Directors has also adopted director independence guidelines that specify the types of relationships the Board has determined to be categorically immaterial. Directors who meet these standards are considered to be “independent.” The full text of our director independence guidelines is published on and may be printed from our website at www.oneok.com and is also available from our corporate secretary upon request.

Our Board of Directors has determined affirmatively that Board members Brian L. Derksen, Julie H. Edwards, Mark W. Helderman, Randall J. Larson, Steven J. Malcolm, Jim W. Mogg, Pattye L. Moore, Gary D. Parker and Eduardo A. Rodriguez have no material relationship with our company, and each qualifies as “independent” under our corporate governance guidelines, our director independence guidelines and the rules of the NYSE. Accordingly, nine out of our current 11 directors qualify as independent.

BOARD LEADERSHIP STRUCTURE

During 2018, our Board was led by John W. Gibson, who is our non-executive Chairman of the Board, in consultation and coordination with Julie H. Edwards, who was our lead independent director and the Chairman of the Corporate Governance Committee. In addition, our Audit Committee and Executive Compensation Committee are each led by a chair and vice chair, each of whom is an independent director.

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that our Board of Directors retains the right to exercise its discretion in combining or separating the offices of the Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. Our Board reviews the issue as a part of its succession planning process. The Board believes that it is advantageous for the Board to maintain flexibility to determine on a case-by-case basis and, if necessary, change the Board leadership structure in order to meet our needs at any time, based on the individuals then available and the circumstances then presented.

The Board believes that maintaining Mr. Gibson’s continuing service as non-executive Chairman of the Board provides the most effective leadership model for our Board and our company at this time. In making this determination, the Board considered the advantages to our company of maintaining the continuity of Mr. Gibson’s effective leadership as Chairman of the Board based on, among other factors, his lengthy service as an executive officer of our company, including as chief executive officer from 2007 until his retirement on January 31, 2014, his strong leadership skills, his extensive knowledge and experience regarding our operations and the industries and markets in which we compete, as well as his ability to promote communication and to synchronize strategic objectives and activities between our Board and our senior management. The Board also believes this leadership structure continues to ensure significant independent oversight of management, as Messrs. Gibson and Spencer are the only members of the Board who are not independent directors. In addition, our Board has an ongoing practice of holding executive sessions of the independent members of the board as part of each regularly scheduled in-person Board meeting.

In accordance with our corporate governance guidelines, the Board continues to retain the authority to combine the positions of Chairman and Chief Executive Officer in the future if it determines that doing so is in the best interests of our company and our shareholders.

LEAD INDEPENDENT DIRECTOR

Our corporate governance guidelines provide the lead independent director who, under these guidelines, is also chair of our Corporate Governance Committee, with various key responsibilities, including leading the Board’s process for selecting both the Chairman of the

Board and the Chief Executive Officer. The guidelines provide that the lead independent director shall have served as a director for a minimum of three years, shall serve for a term of three to five years as determined by the Board of Directors, and that the duties of the lead independent director include but are not limited to:

In addition, the lead independent director has the authority to call meetings of the independent directors and, if requested by major shareholders, will ensure that he or she is available for consultation and direct communication.

SUCCESSION PLANNING

A key responsibility of the Chief Executive Officer and the Board is ensuring that an effective process is in place to provide continuity of leadership over the long term at all levels in our company. Each year, succession-planning reviews are held at every significant organizational level of the company, culminating in a full review of senior leadership talent by our independent directors. During this review, the Chief Executive Officer, the Chairman of the Board and the other independent directors discuss future candidates for senior leadership positions, succession timing for those positions and development plans for the highest-potential candidates. This process ensures continuity of leadership over the long term, and it forms the basis on which our company makes ongoing leadership assignments.

OUR BOARD AND CORPORATE STRATEGY

Our Board of Directors is actively involved in overseeing, reviewing and guiding our corporate strategy. Our Board formally reviews our company’s business strategy, including the risks and opportunities facing our company and its businesses, at an annual strategic planning session. In addition, long-range strategic issues, including the performance and strategic fit of our businesses, are discussed as a matter of course at regular board meetings. Our Board regularly discusses corporate strategy throughout the year with management formally as well as informally and during executive sessions of the Board as appropriate. As discussed in “Risk Oversight” below, our Board views risk management and oversight as an integral part of our strategic planning process, including mapping key risks to our corporate strategy and seeking to manage and mitigate risk. Our Board also views its own composition as a critical component to effective strategic oversight. Accordingly, our Board and relevant

Board committees consider our business strategy and the company’s regulatory, geographic and market environments when assessing board composition, director succession, executive compensation and other matters of importance.

SHAREHOLDER ENGAGEMENT

Our Board of Directors believes that accountability to shareholders is a mark of good corporate governance and that regular shareholder engagement is important to our company’s success. Our company frequently engages with shareholders on a variety of topics, with particular focus on matters relating to our company’s publicly disclosed strategy and financial performance. During 2018, members of our management team and our investor relations group attended or hosted approximately 20 investor conferences or events and held more than 300 discussions with investment firms.

Our company also engages with shareholders to discuss matters relating to governance, compensation, safety, the environment, social responsibility and other current and emerging issues that the Board and our management understand are important to our shareholders. In addition to this direct engagement, our company also maintains a number of complementary mechanisms that allow our shareholders to effectively communicate to our Board, including:

RISK OVERSIGHT

We engage in an annual comprehensive enterprise risk-management (“ERM”) process to identify and manage risk. Our annual ERM assessment is designed to enable our Board of Directors to establish a mutual understanding with management of the effectiveness of our risk-management practices and capabilities, to review our risk exposure and to elevate certain key risks for dis-

cussion at the Board level. Risk management is an integral part of our annual strategic planning process, which addresses, among other things, the risks and opportunities facing our company.

Our ERM program is overseen by our Chief Financial Officer. The program is designed to identify, assess, monitor and manage risks that could affect our ability to fulfill our business objectives or execute our corporate strategy. Our ERM process involves the identification and assessment of a broad range of risks and the development of plans to mitigate these risks. These risks generally relate to the strategic, operational, financial, regulatory compliance and human resources aspects of our business.

Not all risks can be dealt with in the same way. Some risks may be easily perceived and controllable. Other risks are unknown. Some risks can be avoided or mitigated by particular behavior, and some risks are unavoidable as a practical matter. For some risks, the potential adverse impact would be minor and, as a matter of business judgment, it may not be appropriate to allocate significant resources to avoid the adverse impact. In other cases, the adverse impact could be significant, and it is prudent to expend resources to seek to avoid or mitigate the potential adverse impact. Management is responsible for identifying risk and risk controls related to our significant business activities; mapping the risks to our corporate strategy; and developing programs and recommendations to determine the sufficiency of risk identification, the balance of potential risk to potential reward and the appropriate manner in which to control and mitigate risk.

The Board implements its risk oversight responsibilities by having management provide periodic briefing and informational sessions on the significant risks that our company faces and how our company is seeking to control and mitigate those risks. In some cases, as with risks relating to significant acquisitions, risk oversight is addressed as part of the full Board’s ongoing engagement with the Chief Executive Officer and management.

The Board annually reviews a management assessment of the various operational and regulatory risks facing our company, their relative magnitude and management’s plan for mitigating these risks. This review is conducted in conjunction with the Board’s review of our company’s business strategy at its annual strategic planning meeting and at other meetings as appropriate.

We also maintain a Risk Oversight and Strategy Committee, which consists of members of our senior management. This committee is responsible for ensuring that exposure to commodity and interest rate risk, as well as marketing, trading and hedging practices, are monitored within the framework established by our company policies. The committee also is responsible for ensuring that marketing and hedging strategies are developed and implemented to mitigate or manage those risks within acceptable risk thresholds.

In certain cases, a Board committee is responsible for oversight of specific risk topics. For example, the Audit Committee oversees risk issues associated with our overall financial reporting and disclosure process and legal compliance, as well as reviewing policies and procedures on risk-control assessment and accounting-risk exposure, including our companywide risk control activities. The Audit Committee meets with our Chief Financial Officer, Senior Vice President, Finance and Treasurer, Chief Accounting Officer and General Counsel, and meets with our Vice President, Audit Services, as well as with our independent registered public accounting firm, in separate executive sessions at each of its in-person meetings during the year at which time risk issues are discussed regularly.

In addition, our Executive Compensation Committee oversees risks related to our compensation programs, as discussed in greater detail elsewhere in this proxy statement, and our Corporate Governance Committee oversees risks related to our governance practices and policies.

CYBERSECURITY

We have adopted a cybersecurity program that conforms with the guidelines of the widely utilized National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Cybersecurity Framework. We have a Director of Information Security who oversees a dedicated team of information security professionals who manage a cybersecurity program that includes risk assessment, compliance documentation, and reporting of cyber-events. This team is focused on three areas, including enterprise (corporate) information security, industrial control system (“ICS”) (including supervision control and data acquisition (“SCADA”) systems) security, and physical security. The enterprise security team manages the security of our enterprise network, as well as our overall threat and vulnerability management program and incident response procedures. Our ICS security team manages the security of our operational and SCADA cyber assets, and our physical security team manages technology efforts to improve the physical security across our assets.

Our cybersecurity program is governed by an Information Security Advisory Team, which is comprised of members of our executive

management team. Our Board of Directors is briefed regularly on our preparations with respect to cybersecurity. Employees at all levels receive monthly training to follow cybersecurity best practices and protocols in order to recognize threats in the early stages. The Information Security Advisory Team has also established relationships with the FBI and other relevant law enforcement resources to address cyber threats. The team also conducts periodic, external security reviews and penetration tests to determine and improve the efficacy of our security controls.

We use network segmentation best practices across our networks containing enterprise systems, SCADA, and other ICS systems. We have business continuity and disaster recovery plans in place that allow for failover processes, alternative forms of communication, and manual operation of our assets in the event that primary mechanisms become unavailable. All of our customers’ access to our networks is updated quarterly in our disaster recovery plan.

BOARD AND COMMITTEE MEMBERSHIP

Our business, property and affairs are managed under the direction of our Board of Directors. Members of our Board are kept informed of our business through discussions with our Chief Executive Officer and other officers, by reviewing materials provided to them periodically and in connection with Board and committee meetings, by visiting our offices and our operating facilities and by participating in meetings of the Board and its committees.

During 2018, the Board held eight regular meetings and one special meeting. All of our incumbent directors who served on the Board during 2018 attended at least 75 percent of the aggregate of all meetings of the Board and Board committees on which they served in 2018.

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that members of our Board are expected to attend our annual meeting of shareholders. In 2018, all then current members of our Board attended our annual meeting of shareholders.

The Board has three standing committees consisting of the Audit Committee, the Executive Compensation Committee and the Corporate Governance Committee.

Our Board has adopted written charters for each of its Audit, Executive Compensation and Corporate Governance Committees. Copies of the charters of each of these committees are available on and may be printed from our website at www.oneok.com. Copies are also available from our corporate secretary upon request. The responsibilities of our Board committees are summarized below. From time to time the Board, in its discretion, may form other committees.

The Audit Committee. The Audit Committee represents and assists our Board of Directors with the oversight of the integrity of our financial statements and internal control over financial reporting, our compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, the independence, qualifications and performance of our independent registered public accounting firm and the performance of our internal audit function. The responsibilities of the Audit Committee include:

Our independent registered public accounting firm reports directly to our Audit Committee.

All members of our Audit Committee are “independent” under the independence requirements of the NYSE and the Securities and Exchange Commission applicable to audit committee members. The Board has determined that Jim W. Mogg, Gary D. Parker, Brian L. Derksen and Randall J. Larson are each an audit committee financial expert under the applicable rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The Executive Compensation Committee. Our Executive Compensation Committee is responsible for establishing and periodically reviewing our executive compensation policies and practices. This responsibility includes:

Our Executive Compensation Committee meets periodically during the year to review our executive and director compensation policies and practices. The Committee annually recommends to our Board of Directors executive officer salaries and short- and long-term incentive compensation. The scope of the authority of this committee is not limited except as set forth in its charter and by applicable law. This committee has the authority to delegate duties to subcommittees of this committee, or to other standing committees of the Board of Directors, as it deems necessary or appropriate. This committee may not delegate to a subcommittee any authority required by any law, regulation or listing standard to be exercised by this committee as a whole.

All members of our Executive Compensation Committee are “independent” under the independence requirements of the NYSE applicable to compensation committee members.

The executive compensation group in our corporate human resources department supports, in consultation with our Chief Executive Officer, the Executive Compensation Committee in its work.

During 2018, the Executive Compensation Committee continued the engagement of Meridian Compensation Partners, LLC (“Meridian Compensation Partners”) as an independent executive compensation consultant to assist the committee in its evaluation of the amount and form of compensation paid in 2018 to our Chief Executive Officer, our other executive officers and our directors. Meridian Compensation Partners reported directly to the Executive Compensation Committee. For more information on executive compensation and the role of this consultant, see “Executive Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Executive Compensation Methodology—The Role of the Independent Executive Compensation Consultant” at page 47.

The Corporate Governance Committee. Our Corporate Governance Committee is responsible for overseeing our company’s governance, including the selection of directors and the Board’s practices and effectiveness. These responsibilities include:

All members of our Corporate Governance Committee are “independent” under the independence requirements of the NYSE.

DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that the Board of Directors is responsible for selecting candidates for Board membership and delegates the screening process to the Corporate Governance Committee of the Board. This committee, with recommendations and input from our Chairman of the Board, our Chief Executive Officer and members of our Board, evaluates the qualifications of each director candidate and assesses the appropriate mix of skills, qualifications and characteristics required of Board members in the context of the perceived needs of the Board at a given point in time. The committee is responsible for recommending candidates for nomination by the Board for election as members of our Board.

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that candidates for nomination by the Board must be committed to devoting the time and effort necessary to be productive members of the Board and that, in nominating candidates, the Board will endeavor to establish director diversity in personal background, race, gender, age and nationality. The guidelines also provide that the Board will seek to maintain a mix that includes, but is not limited to, the following areas of core competency: accounting and finance; investment banking; business judgment; management; energy industry knowledge; operations; leadership; strategic vision; law; and corporate relations.

The Corporate Governance Committee’s charter provides that it has the responsibility, in consultation with the Chairman of the Board and the Chief Executive Officer, to search for, recruit, screen, interview and select candidates for the position of director as necessary to fill vacancies on the Board or the additional needs of the Board and to consider management and shareholder recommendations for candidates for nomination by the Board. In carrying out this responsibility, the Corporate Governance Committee evaluates the qualifications and performance of incumbent directors and determines whether to recommend them for re-election to the

Board. In addition, this committee determines, as necessary, the portfolio of skills, experience, diversity, perspective and background required for the effective functioning of the Board considering our business strategy and our regulatory, geographic and market environments.

Our corporate governance guidelines contain a policy regarding the Corporate Governance Committee’s consideration of prospective director candidates recommended by shareholders for nomination by our Board. Under this policy, any shareholder who wishes to recommend a prospective candidate for nomination by our Board for election at our 2020 annual meeting should send a letter of recommendation to our corporate secretary at our principal executive offices by no later than September 30, 2019. The letter should include the name, address and number of shares owned by the recommending shareholder (including, if the recommending shareholder is not a shareholder of record, proof of ownership of the type referred to in Rule 14a-8(b)(2) of the proxy rules of the Securities and Exchange Commission), the prospective candidate’s name and address, a description of the prospective candidate’s background, qualifications and relationships, if any, with our company and all other information necessary for our Board to determine whether the prospective candidate meets the independence standards under the rules of the NYSE and our director independence guidelines. A signed statement from the prospective candidate should accompany the letter of recommendation indicating that he or she consents to being considered as a nominee of the Board and that, if nominated by the Board and elected by the shareholders, he or she will serve as a director. The committee will evaluate prospective candidates recommended by shareholders for nomination by our Board in light of the various factors set forth above.

Neither the Corporate Governance Committee, nor the Board, nor our company itself discriminates in any way against prospective candidates for nomination by the Board on the basis of age, gender, race, religion, or other personal characteristics. There are no differences in the manner in which the Corporate Governance Committee or the Board evaluates prospective candidates based on whether the prospective candidate is recommended by a shareholder or by the Corporate Governance Committee, provided that the recommending shareholder furnishes to our company a letter of recommendation containing the information described above along with the signed statement of the prospective candidate referred to above.

In addition to having the ability to recommend prospective candidates for nomination by our Board, under our By-laws, shareholders may themselves nominate candidates for election at an annual meeting of shareholders so long as they are shareholders of record when they give the notice described below and on the record date for the relevant annual meeting. Any shareholder who desires to

nominate candidates for election as directors at our 2020 annual meeting must follow the procedures set forth in our By-laws. Under these procedures, notice of a shareholder nomination for the election of a director must be received by our corporate secretary at our principal executive offices not less than 120 calendar days, and not more than 150 calendar days, before the first anniversary of the date that our proxy statement was released to shareholders in connection with our 2019 annual meeting of shareholders (i.e., notice must be received no later than December 6, 2019). If the date of the 2020 annual meeting is more than 30 days after May 22, 2020, the first anniversary of our 2019 annual meeting, our corporate secretary must receive notice of a shareholder nomination by the close of business on the tenth day following the earlier of the day on which notice of the date of the 2020 annual meeting is mailed to shareholders or the day on which public announcement of the 2020 annual meeting date is made. In addition, in accordance with our By-laws, the shareholder notice must contain certain information about the candidate the shareholder desires to nominate for election as a director, the shareholder giving the notice and the beneficial owner, if any, on whose behalf the nomination is made.

In addition, our By-laws permit a shareholder, or a group of up to 20 shareholders, owning 3 percent or more of ONEOK’s common stock continuously for a period of at least three years, to nominate for election to our Board and have such director nominations included in our proxy materials, a number of director candidates equal to the greater of (i) two individuals or (ii) the closest whole number that does not exceed 20 percent of our Board, provided that the shareholder(s) and the nominee(s) satisfy certain requirements specified in the By-laws. Under these procedures, notice must be received by our corporate secretary at our principal executive offices not less than 120 calendar days, and not more than 150 calendar days, before the first anniversary of the date that our proxy statement was released to shareholders in connection with our 2019 annual meeting of shareholders (i.e., notice must be received no earlier than November 6, 2019 and later than December 6, 2019). In accordance with our By-laws, the shareholder notice must contain certain information about the candidate the shareholder(s) desires to nominate for election as a director, the shareholder(s) giving the notice and the beneficial owner(s), if any, on whose behalf the nomination is made.

DIRECTOR COMPENSATION

The Executive Compensation Committee reviews director compensation on an annual basis in consultation with Meridian Compensation Partners, the Committee’s independent compensation consultant. This review includes consideration of director compensation data compiled by Meridian for the same peer group used to assess competitive compensation for our executive officers

in order to assess the competitive levels and types of compensation for our directors. In addition to considering director compensation data compiled by Meridian, the Committee also considers relevant factors such as our company’s financial and operational perform-

ance when reviewing director compensation. After completing its review, the Committee submits its recommendation for director compensation to the full Board of Directors for approval.

All directors are reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred in connection with attendance at Board and committee meetings.

Our one management director, Terry K. Spencer, receives no compensation for his service as a director.

Our Board of Directors has established minimum share ownership guidelines for members of our Board that are discussed under “Executive Compensation Discussion and Analysis—Share Ownership Guidelines” at page 56. Our shareholder-approved Equity Incentive Plan imposes meaningful caps on the value of stock awards granted to our directors each year.

COMPENSATION COMMITTEE INTERLOCKS AND INSIDER PARTICIPATION

During 2018, Messrs. Malcolm, Rodriguez and Ms. Moore served on our Executive Compensation Committee. No member of the Executive Compensation Committee was an officer or employee of the company or any of its subsidiaries during 2018, and no member of this committee was formerly an officer of the company or any of its subsidiaries. In addition, during 2018, none of our executive officers served as a member of a compensation committee or board of directors of any other entity of which any member of our Board was an executive officer.

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS OF THE BOARD

The non-management members and independent members of our Board of Directors each meet in separate, regularly scheduled executive sessions during each regular in-person meeting of the Board held during the year. We intend to continue this practice of regularly scheduled separate meetings of each of the non-management members and independent members of our Board. Our corporate governance guidelines provide that our lead independent director, who is the chair of our Corporate Governance Committee, presides as the chair at executive session meetings of the independent members of our Board.

COMMUNICATIONS WITH DIRECTORS

Our Board believes that it is management’s role to speak for our company. Directors refer all inquiries regarding our company from institutional investors, analysts, the news media, customers or sup-

pliers to our Chief Executive Officer or his designee. Our Board also believes that any communications between members of the Board and interested parties, including shareholders, should be conducted with the knowledge of our Chief Executive Officer. Interested parties, including shareholders, may contact one or more members of our Board, including non-management directors and non-management directors as a group, by writing to the director or directors in care of our corporate secretary at our principal executive offices. A communication received from an interested party or shareholder will be forwarded promptly to the director or directors to whom the communication is addressed. A copy of the communication also will be provided to our Chief Executive Officer. We will not, however, forward sales or marketing materials, materials that are abusive, threatening or otherwise inappropriate, or correspondence not clearly identified as interested party or shareholder correspondence.

COMPLAINT PROCEDURES

Our Board of Directors has adopted procedures for the receipt, retention and treatment of complaints regarding accounting, internal accounting controls, or auditing matters and complaints or concerns under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. These procedures allow for the confidential and anonymous submission by employees of concerns regarding accounting or auditing matters and matters arising under our Code of Business Conduct and Ethics. The full text of these procedures, known as our whistleblower policy, is published on and may be printed from our website at www.oneok.com and is also available from our corporate secretary upon request.

ENVIRONMENT, SAFETY AND HEALTH COMMITMENT

Our goal is to always operate our assets safely, efficiently and environmentally responsibly. As our business grows, we remain committed to our ONEOK values and keeping our focus in the right place—on our investors and our mission to operate safely and responsibly.

We are committed to pursuing a zero-incident culture by continuously working toward mitigating risk and eliminating incidents that may harm our employees, contractors, the public and the environment. To meet corporate and operating ESH expectations, all employees and contractors must demonstrate a commitment to the following:

SAFETY AND HEALTH

The safety and health of our employees, customers and communities where we operate is at the forefront of each business decision we make. By monitoring the integrity of our assets and promoting the safety and health of our employees, customers and communities, we are investing in the long-term sustainability of our businesses.

We continuously assess the risks our employees face in their jobs, and we work to mitigate those risks through training, appropriate engineering controls, work procedures and other preventive safety and health programs. Reducing incidents and improving our safety incident rates is important, but we are not focused only on statistics. Low incident rates alone cannot prevent a large-scale incident, which is why we continue to focus on enhancing our ESH management systems and process safety programs, such as key risk/key control identification and knowledge sharing.

We have an ESH Leadership Committee which provides vision, leadership, direction and oversight for our ESH programs, processes and management systems. This committee consists of senior leadership representatives from different business segments, as well as our ESH support group. The committee has several responsibilities including:

Contractor Safety

We expect and require our contractors to maintain the same high ESH performance standards we ask of our employees.

Because we use third-party contractors to assist in the construction, operation and maintenance of our facilities and assets, contractor management is an important element of our ESH management system. As part of the management system, we have established contractor qualification, selection and retention criteria designed to attract the most qualified companies. Each company we contract with is responsible for providing personnel who are appropriately screened, trained, qualified and are able to perform specified duties related to all ESH policies and procedures. Once selected, contractors are monitored periodically to ensure they are following our ESH expectations.

Our large construction projects team continues to utilize our Safety Tracking for ONEOK Major Projects (“STOMP”) safety tool, which is designed to capture and monitor our contractors’ ESH performance. STOMP assists us and contract employees in the prevention of injuries, equipment damage, environmental impact and facility downtime. Our STOMP tool has raised awareness among our con- tractors of the benefits and requirements of reporting incidents, implementing corrective actions and identifying events early, which helps prevent and reduce incidents and their consequences.

We believe an effective contractor safety program enhances our projects by assisting contractors with systematically identifying and evaluating anticipated hazards and establishing controls in advance of actual work.

Asset Integrity and Reliability Management

It is always our goal to ensure we operate our assets safely, reliably and in an environmentally sustainable manner.

Asset integrity is the ability of an asset to perform its required function effectively and efficiently while also protecting those that live and work near our facilities and the environment. We maintain mature programs that guide trained staff in the completion of these activities, and we continue to enhance and improve these programs and our internal capabilities.

While many of our assets are regulated by local, state and federal agencies, our activities are not limited to compliance. Asset integrity is critical in many ways, and our programs and people are dedicated to satisfying the expectations of each of our key stakeholders, including governmental regulatory agencies, the communities in which we operate, landowners, our customers, our employees and investors.

Reservoirs, mined salt caverns and mined rock caverns are used to store natural gas, natural gas liquids and certain refined products within a regulatory and industry appropriate framework. This specialized, technical field depends heavily on industry best practices, experienced practitioners and rigorous documentation and recordkeeping.

Short-Term Incentive Safety Metric

We established an internal safety performance metric in 2009 that became a part of the short-term incentive plan performance criteria for all employees. The Total Recordable Incident Rate (TRIR) is the number of Occupational Safety and Health Administration incidents per 200,000 work-hours. The inclusion of this important metric is designed to emphasize our commitment to the safe operation of our business and to reward safe behavior throughout our company. The 2018 target for TRIR represented a 25.6 percent improvement over the previous year’s actual results.

Safety and Health Highlights

In 2018, we experienced our best year on record with respect to our ESH performance.

Additional highlights include:

ENVIRONMENT

We continue our focus on environmental sustainability while operating our assets safely and reliably. We work to minimize the environmental impact of our services while continuously searching for new ways to meet stakeholder expectations for environmental stewardship. Our environmental efforts focus on minimizing the impact of our operations on the environment. These actions include:

Operating our businesses to meet the environmental expectations of each of our key stakeholders, including regulatory agencies, the communities in which we operate, landowners, customers, employees and investors, continues to be the goal we strive for in our day-to-day operations.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

We are committed to understanding and managing our emissions and seeking ways to improve energy efficiency in our operations. We monitor emissions, undertake projects to manage operating emissions and apply innovative technologies to improve our energy efficiency. GHG emissions directly from our facilities, which are referred to as scope 1 emissions, primarily result from a combustion from natural gas compressor engines and process heaters, methane gas escaping from our operating equipment, venting and other processes common to natural gas systems.

As a midstream service provider, we gather, transport, process and store hydrocarbon products for many customers. We deliver these products back into the market, and they are eventually delivered to consumers. Emissions that result from our customers’ combustion or oxidation of NGL products produced from our fractionation facilities are referred to as scope 3 emissions.

Federal GHG emissions regulations require annual reporting of emissions from several source categories. In accordance with these regulations, we report emissions from our operating sources that have the potential to emit in excess of 25,000 tons per year of carbon dioxide equivalents (“CO₂e”). In 2018, we estimate emissions of 61.3 metric tons of CO₂e consisting of both scope 1 and scope 3 emissions.

In addition to the sources of scope 1 emissions described above, other emission sources include fugitive emission components, such as valves at our facilities, and other operating equipment, including acid gas treatment systems, pressure relief stacks, dehydrator vents and storage tanks. Estimated 2018 scope 1 emissions were 3.2 million metric tons of CO₂e.

Scope 3 emissions are calculated using the annual volume of each fractionated product and multiplying it by an emission factor. Products covered are ethane, propane, normal butane, isobutene and natural gasoline. Estimated 2018 scope 3 emissions were 58.1 million metric tons of CO₂e.

In 2018, our specific efforts related to emissions reductions included:

Environmental Highlights and Awards

Newsweek magazine’s Green Rankings lists the 500 largest publicly traded companies in the U.S. (the “U.S. 500”) and the 500 largest publicly traded companies globally (the “Global 500”) on overall environmental performance, and is considered one of the world’s foremost corporate environmental rankings. In 2017-18, we ranked 281 among the U.S. 500, up from 284 in 2016 and 461 in 2015.

Our 2018 green score was 14 percent, up from 9.9 percent in 2015. We ranked 15 out of 33 in the energy industry sector.

Additional highlights and awards include the following:

Short-Term Incentive Environmental Metric

We established an internal environmental performance metric in 2014 that became a part of the short-term incentive plan performance criteria for all our employees. The Agency Reportable Environmental Event Rate (“AREER”) metric promotes a continued reduction in spills and emission events that are reportable to a state or federal agency. The 2018 target for AREER represented a 15 percent improvement over the previous year’s actual results. Since the implementation of the AREER metric, we have seen a year-over-year reduction in our rate of reportable environmental events.

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY

We believe companies that anticipate and manage current and future sustainable opportunities and risks by focusing on quality, innovation and productivity will emerge as industry leaders and are more likely to create a competitive advantage and long-term stakeholder value.

ONEOK created a sustainability group within our corporate ESH organization in 2017 to increase our focus on the challenges and opportunities our industry is facing regarding environmental sustainability. The group takes a proactive approach to promoting sustainable ESH practices and awareness in our business planning and operational processes.

Key strategies include:

In 2018, this group conducted an environmental and social materiality assessment to determine what is material to our operating processes and potential environmental impacts.

We are included in approximately 10 ESG-related indices, including the FTSE4Good US, MSCI KLD 400 Social, MSCI World ESG and the MSCI USA SRI.

COMMUNITY INVESTMENTS

We value being a good corporate citizen and are committed to fostering partnerships between our company, employees and the community. We seek to give back through building partnerships with community organizations and key stakeholders that address local needs and provide resources for all to benefit. Providing community investments, programs and opportunities that encourage and support engagement create shared value by connecting the success of business with societal progress.

We strategically invest in charitable organizations and causes that align with our company’s values, as well as meet community needs by providing valuable services and resources. Through financial contributions and volunteer service, our goal is to enhance the quality of life and economic well-being of our communities while creating a positive environment in which to do business.

The ONEOK Foundation enables a consistent level of giving through grants and pledges to non-profit organizations, and ONEOK provides corporate contributions, generally in the form of sponsorships, in support of charitable organizations and events.

We encourage employees to volunteer for company-sponsored projects or serve, using personal time, on charitable or civic boards and organizations. Our Employee Matching Grant program and volunteer service grants further support those efforts.

2018 Community Investments Updates and Highlights

    (Based on the estimated value per hour of volunteer time of $24.69).

DIVERSITY AND INCLUSION

Our success is dependent upon our greatest resource—our employees. To continue our success, we must nurture creativity, new ideas and diverse thought—none of which are attainable without fostering an inclusive workplace.

We are committed to proactively and consciously embracing diversity by recognizing and appreciating the characteristics that make individuals unique. We strive to foster a culture of inclusion and an envi

ronment where everyone connected with our company feels valued.

Throughout 2018, diversity and inclusion remained a top priority, as evident in our recruiting and programming efforts. We held diversity and inclusion meetings at 10 universities and technical schools, and we have integrated a diversity and inclusion workshop into our intern and trainee programs.

We continue providing professional development and skill-building opportunities for all employees through various programs.

We also seek to recognize employees who are military veterans. We have begun actively recruiting military veterans and attending military career fairs.

We have organized business resource groups (“BRGs”), which are employee-led affiliation groups intended to promote the development of traditionally underrepresented segments of our workforce. The BRGs are allocated an annual budget to support their operation. A key factor in the success of our BRGs is the active participation by executive sponsors and other “allies” from outside the BRGs’ underrepresented population.

Diversity and Inclusion Highlights and Awards

POLITICAL ADVOCACY AND OVERSIGHT

As a company, we do not make corporate contributions to (1) political candidates, parties, committees or campaigns, (2) 527 groups (such as governors associations or super PACs) or (3) 501(c)(4) organizations (or other tax-exempt entities) formed for political purposes. In addition, in most circumstances we will not make contributions designed to influence the outcome of ballot measures. However, we have in the past, and may in the future, support or oppose specific ballot measures that could impact our company, its employees, assets or operations. In the event we decide to support or oppose a particular ballot measure, we will provide the appropriate disclosure of such support or opposition, including any corporate funds expended for that purpose.

We do, however, actively participate in the political process through the lobbying efforts of our government relations department, involvement in multiple business and industry trade organizations, and through the ONEOK, Inc. Employee Political Action Committee (ONEOK PAC).

Political contributions to federal, state and local candidates are made by the ONEOK PAC which is funded by voluntary contributions from eligible company employees. The ONEOK PAC’s activities are guided by a steering committee composed of members of senior management and a contribution committee composed of ONEOK PAC members and are subject to comprehensive regulation, including detailed disclosure requirements. ONEOK PAC contributions are reported to the Federal Election Commission and applicable state regulatory authorities. During 2018, the ONEOK PAC made contributions to state and federal candidates for office in the amount of $152,320.

Our government relations team works with state and federal legislators to ensure ONEOK’s inclusion in key legislative issues that affect the company’s ability to operate. In 2018, we monitored legislation on a variety of issues that could impact our businesses, including natural gas flaring, increased seismicity, local control, infrastructure and operation security and disaster-response efficiency, state and federal tax issues and reclamation and restoration of pipeline rights of way. During 2018, we also paid $351,024 for state and federal lobbying activities.

We belong to a number of industry associations that participate in the political process. These associations promote collaboration between companies within an industry concerning public policy initiatives and represent industry interests in the legislative and regulatory arenas. Our primary purpose in becoming a member of these industry associations is not for political purposes, as we may not agree with all positions taken by industry associations on issues. The benefits that we receive from industry associations are primarily expertise and the ability to gain insight on industry related matters. In 2018, we paid dues of approximately $1,086,826 to 42 trade and industry associations, of which approximately 45 percent was allocated by those associations to lobby expenses and political expenditures.

Our lobbying and political activities are reviewed annually by the Board of Directors. We believe this oversight process ensures accountability and transparency for our lobbying and political activities.

BOARD REFRESHMENT

Our Board recognizes the importance of Board refreshment to help ensure an appropriate balance of experience, expertise and perspective on our Board.

Based on the recommendations of our Corporate Governance Committee, in December 2015 our Board elected Randall J. Larson and Brian L. Derksen to our Board and in February 2019 elected Mark W. Helderman to our Board. Messrs. Larson, Derksen and Helderman add to the Board’s experience, expertise and knowledge in a number of areas, including natural gas and natural gas liquids gathering, processing, fractionation transportation and storage operations and accounting, finance and capital management in the midstream sector of the energy industry.

Your Board of Directors believes that its current membership reflects a balanced Board with deep experience and diverse expertise.

ANNUAL ELECTION BY MAJORITY VOTE

Our certificate of incorporation provides for the annual election of directors. Our Board of Directors currently consists of 11 members, each of whose terms will expire at the 2019 annual meeting.

As more fully described above in “Outstanding Stock and Voting—Votes Required—Proposal 1—Election of Directors,” our By-laws provide for majority voting for directors in uncontested elections and our corporate governance guidelines require that a nominee for director who does not receive the requisite majority vote in an uncontested election must promptly tender his or her resignation to our Board of Directors for its consideration.

The persons named in the accompanying proxy card intend to vote such proxy in favor of the election of each of the nominees named below, who are all currently directors, unless the proxy provides for a vote against the director. Although the Board has no reason to believe that the nominees will be unable to serve as directors, if a

nominee withdraws or otherwise becomes unavailable to serve, the persons named as proxies will vote for any substitute nominee designated by the Board, unless contrary instructions are given on the proxy. Except for these nominees, no other person has been recommended to our Board as a potential nominee or otherwise nominated for election as a director.

BOARD QUALIFICATIONS

Our corporate governance guidelines provide that our Corporate Governance Committee will evaluate the qualifications of each director candidate and assess the appropriate mix of skills and characteristics required of board members in the context of the perceived needs of the Board at a given point in time. Each director also is expected to: