Oil Companies Collaborate To Protect Biodiversity

The Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI) is a landmark collaboration between companies in the oil and gas industry and conservation groups to integrate biodiversity considerations into business strategy and operations.

The group released its first report, “Energy and Biodiversity: Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas Development,” in late August. It contains recommendations and tools for integrating biodiversity conservation into oil and gas development, and is intended to be a practical manual for building biodiversity protection into the entire lifecycle of oil and gas operations, from exploration to decommissioning.

Convened by the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB), a division of Conservation International, the EBI participants include BP, ChevronTexaco, Shell, Statoil, Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, the Smithsonian Institution, The Nature Conservancy, and IUCN – The World Conservation Union.

The release of the report marks an important milestone. A biodiversity working group has been set up by the International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA) and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) to work with the oil & gas industry to begin testing and refining the report recommendations.

While the report is the first step, it is the first time that biodiversity guidelines have been developed for the oil & gas industry. It is also the first time that this type of multi-organizational collaboration has taken place – both inside and outside of the oil & gas industry. And, even more unique, is that four major industry competitors have sat together to develop the EBI guidelines.

The report and supporting products, including guides, discussion papers and additional resources, address six questions:

1. What is the business case for integrating biodiversity conservation into oil and gas development?

2. How can companies integrate biodiversity considerations into their systems and operations?

3. What are the potential negative impacts on biodiversity from oil and gas development and what practices can companies adopt at their operational sites to mitigate these impacts?

4. How can companies factor biodiversity criteria into decisions about where the company will operate?

5. How can a company measure a project’s impact on biodiversity and its company-wide performance in relation to biodiversity?

6. How can companies go beyond minimizing impacts and take advantage of opportunities to benefit biodiversity?

The 12 EBI Recommendations include:

* Energy companies and conservation organizations collaborate to integrate biodiversity conservation into oil and gas development.

* Companies recognize the integrity of protected areas. While some governments may permit oil and gas development in certain protected areas, this can present significant risks to biodiversity, which companies take action to avoid, mitigate or offset.

* Companies recognize that high biodiversity values exist both in and outside of protected areas. When considering whether to operate in such areas, companies evaluate alternate locations, routes and technical solutions. If they do choose to operate in areas of high biodiversity value, companies employ a comprehensive set of management actions, including mitigation, compensatory measures and investments in opportunities to benefit biodiversity conservation.

* Stakeholder engagement that includes biodiversity considerations begins as early as possible and continues throughout the project lifecycle. Engagement is particularly important during impact assessment, indicator development and evaluation of opportunities to benefit biodiversity conservation.

* Integrated environmental and social impact assessment (ESIA) processes are carried out for any new major development project. Potential impacts on biodiversity are fully assessed and analyzed when preliminary screening and scoping or subsequent review steps determine the project may have significant impacts on biodiversity.

The next step is for the EBI to test and refine the recommendations with the Biodiversity Working Group of IPIECA and OGP. One of the challenges is to help oil and gas companies adopt the recommendations while recognizing their differing values and policies and the variety of cultures where the companies operate around the world.

The Energy and Biodiversity Initiative was selected by the International Chamber of Commerce and the United Nations Environment Program as ome of four winners of the 2002 World Summit Business Awards for Sustainable Development Partnerships in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Read the report: www.TheEBI.org