The Energy & Biodiversity Initiative
This document takes as its starting point the assumption that biodiversity conservation is an integral part of sustainable development, and that oil and gas companies should integrate biodiversity considerations into their Environmental Management Systems (EMS) or integrated Health, Safety and Environmental Management Systems (HSEMS) at a corporate and/or project level. Although consideration of biodiversity should be an integral part of any EMS, actions and activities to manage and conserve biodiversity should be based on a valid and transparent risk assessment process. Therefore, only in those cases where there are significant biodiversity issues will many of the responses proposed in this document be necessary. It is important to note at this point that significance is a value judgment, and its definition may vary from one project to another. Within the Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI) the focus is the process of defining significance appropriately rather than attempting to define it in any absolute terms.
Where significant issues do exist, companies may face pressure from governments, communities, shareholders and non-governmental organizations to go beyond preventing or mitigating negative impacts and take advantage of opportunities to benefit biodiversity conservation in and around project sites and in the countries and regions where they operate. Consideration of such opportunities may also be integrated with a corporate or project-level EMS at the discretion of each company or site, as fits their specific context. Examples are noted where appropriate throughout this document.
There are two principal templates for environmental management within the oil and gas sector. The first is based upon the Guidelines for the Development and Application of Health, Safety and Environmental Management Systems published by the E&P Forum (now named the International Oil and Gas Producers Association, or OGP) in 1994 (Report No. 6 36/210). The second is based upon the International Organization for Standardization’s Environmental Management Systems – Specification with Guidance for Use (ISO 14001), published in 1996. While there is a large degree of convergence between the OGP and ISO approaches, they are presented here separately to maximize the value of this document to the broadest possible range of end-users. More generally, this document should also be applicable to other EMS templates, which are increasingly based upon, or linked to, the ISO standards.
It is important to note, however, that, irrespective of whether an OGP, ISO or other environmental management system template is used, systems actually used by companies are likely to be modified in some way. Therefore, any company using this document will need to carefully check the transposition of its content into their system. Equally, it is the purpose of this document to offer examples of how biodiversity considerations can be integrated into EMS. Consequently, it avoids prescriptive activities and actions, offering suggestions instead. Within the overall structure of an organization’s particular EMS there may be a number of ways to achieve the desired outcomes using formal or informal procedures. The measure of success should be based on performance rather than strict adherence to a narrowly defined process.
This document is primarily aimed at corporate officers, site managers and other relevant personnel responsible for the management, monitoring and conservation of biodiversity within the wider context of environmental protection throughout the lifecycle of upstream oil and gas operations. However, ultimately, environmental and biodiversity protection and management is the responsibility of all oil and gas staff, irrespective of their job description or location. Therefore, this document may also be useful when considering biodiversity in the context of environmental training programs and briefings.
Although this document is designed for use as a standalone document, other EBI products offer detailed guidance on key elements of the integration.
