Global oil & gas industry charts decade of progress

20 June 2002 - Working within local cultures, the oil and gas industry is helping to produce more affordable, accessible, and increasingly cleaner energy than ever before. This energy - currently meeting 63% of the world's primary needs - provides a source of power for heat, light, mobility and communications for billions of people around the world.

But with what impact on the environment and society? That question is answered, in large part, in the oil and gas industry's contribution to a series of industry sector reports coordinated by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP).

The oil and gas sector was one of 22 global industries invited by UNEP to contribute a document tracing a decade of progress in sustainability in the leadup to the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg in August this year.

The result: an 85-page report produced jointly by the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) and the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (OGP).

Developed through a multi-stakeholder process facilitated by UNEP, the document shows how ten years of applying innovative technology and improved management systems have helped to maintain security of supply within a framework of corporate social responsibility.

The report's focus is on 12 key issues:
§ Biodiversity
§ Climate change
§ Engagement & community outreach
§ Ethics & human rights
§ Health management
§ Oil spill prevention & response
§ Product stewardship
§ Safety
§ Technical cooperation &and capacity building
§ Urban air quality
§ Waste management
§ Water management

The report illustrates tangible progress in each of these areas, with over 70 case studies covering individual company initiatives as well as joint efforts through national, regional and global industry associations. Among the projects featured are a reforestation programme in Bolivia, environmental education in Egypt, human rights awareness-raising in Burma, efforts to combat AIDS and malaria, vocational training courses in Trinidad, encouraging the use of cleaner rickshaws in India and finding water for desert communities in Yemen and Angola.

An annex shows how industry efforts and achievements such as these are aligned with Agenda 21.

Though focussing on a decade of progress, the report also acknowledges sector shortcomings and the challenges ahead.

'In concentrating on securing future supplies of oil and gas, we have perhaps paid less attention to other, equally important aspects of our business. We readily acknowledge that as individual companies - and as an industry - we do not always have the right answers. Sometimes we do not even ask the right questions. Therefore, probably the biggest challenge we face is in working more closely and effectively with others; listening to and learning from diverse points of view,' the report says.

Copies of the report are available for download on www.ipieca.org and www.ogp.org.uk. Hard copies can be obtained from the Secretariat by contacting the IPIECA Secretariat (dedmenson@ipieca.org) or the OGP Secretariat (Llewellyn.Harris@ogp.org.uk)