Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil and Gas ... - EBI

3. INTEGRATING BIODIVERSITY INTO MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
AND OPERATIONS
How can companies integrate biodiversity considerations into their management systems and operations?
In order to effectively integrate biodiversity considerations
into its decision-making and activities, a company does
not need to adopt an entirely new suite of systems or
practices. The ideas in this report and its accompanying
products are most likely to be adopted and used
systematically if they can be integrated into a company’s
ongoing management systems and operations. Thus,
the products of the EBI are designed to build on systems
already widely used within the industry, as the basis
for improvement of performance wherever oil and gas
operations take place.
The basic core process with which leading companies
in the energy industry currently manage environmental
issues is either an Environmental Management System
(EMS) or an integrated Health, Safety and Environmental
Management System (HSEMS). Within this system,
one of the most important tools for understanding and
addressing actual or potential impacts to biodiversity,
particularly for new projects, is the Environmental and
Social Impact Assessment (ESIA) process. Both the
EMS/HSEMS and ESIA are dynamic processes that evolve
through the different stages of each project’s lifecycle.
Although not all companies have such systems in place,
they are recognized industry good practice and a desired
goal for responsible management of environmental issues.
This section and its related EBI products offer
suggestions for ways that a company can integrate
biodiversity considerations into its EMS at both a
company and project level, as well as into its ESIA
process. Although biodiversity should be a part of any
EMS or ESIA, actions and activities to manage and
conserve biodiversity should be based on a valid and
transparent risk assessment process – only in those cases
where there are significant biodiversity issues will many of the
actions in the following sections be necessary (see Box 8).
3.1 INTEGRATING BIODIVERSITY INTO
ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS
There are two principal templates for environmental
management within the oil and gas sector. One
template is based on the International Organization for
Standardization’s Environmental Management Systems
– Specification with Guidance for Use (ISO 14001),
published in 1996. The other is based on 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.
While these are the most commonly used systems, the
suggestions offered here and in the related EBI guide
BOX 8. THE IMPORTANCE OF RISK ASSESSMENT
Energy companies make operational and policy decisions in the context of a broad-based risk management system that
evaluates the costs and benefits of different options, based on financial, operational, strategic and reputational criteria,
as well as risks to wider society and the environment. Consideration and implementation of the actions and practices
outlined in each section of this document should be based on the results of a comprehensive risk assessment process that
considers the level of risk to biodiversity, operations and company reputation from different courses of action. Only in
those cases where there are significant risks to biodiversity or to the company and potential negative impacts will many of
the in-depth biodiversity management practices discussed in this document and its accompanying tools be necessary. The
criteria for determining whether a risk or an impact is significant will vary from location to location and project to project.
Each company has its own definition of significance and its own level of risk threshold, based on values, experiences and
company processes. Likewise, each conservation organization has its own definition of significance and its own level of risk
threshold, independent of its association with energy companies.
22 The Energy & Biodiversity Initiative