How can oil and gas companies reduce their environmental impact?

1 Reduce flaring and venting

Flaring and venting are processes that burn or release excess natural gas from oil and gas operations, often done for safety or economic reasons. Unfortunately, these practices can result in considerable emissions of greenhouse gases, air pollutants, and noise. To reduce these emissions, oil and gas companies can install systems to convert the gas into useful products, such as electricity or heat. Additionally, leak detection and repair programs can identify and fix sources of fugitive emissions. Finally, companies can enhance operational efficiency and planning to minimize the need for flaring and venting, such as by optimizing production rates and coordinating maintenance activities.

2 Improve water management

Water is integral to oil and gas operations, particularly in hydraulic fracturing, enhanced oil recovery, and refining. Nevertheless, water can also present environmental issues such as water scarcity, water quality, and water disposal. To improve water management, oil and gas companies can implement measures such as water recycling and reuse systems to decrease the amount of freshwater needed and the volume of wastewater generated. Water treatment technologies can be applied to remove pollutants from wastewater and make it suitable for discharge or reuse. Additionally, water conservation practices such as using low-flow devices, fixing leaks, and monitoring water consumption can be adopted to reduce water losses and waste.

4 Engage with stakeholders

Stakeholders, such as customers, employees, investors, regulators, communities, NGOs, and media, are affected by or have an interest in the activities of oil and gas companies. Therefore, engaging with stakeholders is essential for understanding their expectations, concerns, and needs; it can also help build trust, credibility, and collaboration. To engage with stakeholders effectively, oil and gas companies should conduct stakeholder analysis and mapping to identify and prioritize key stakeholders and their issues/interests. Developing stakeholder engagement plans and strategies can also define objectives, methods, and outcomes for the engagement process. Furthermore, implementing stakeholder engagement activities and tools like surveys, meetings, workshops, newsletters or websites can facilitate communication, feedback, consultation, and participation.

5 Report and disclose performance

Reporting and disclosing performance are key ways for oil and gas companies to communicate their environmental achievements, challenges, and commitments to their stakeholders and the public. It can also help them measure their progress, identify gaps, and improve their performance. To do so, they should follow reporting standards and guidelines such as the GRI, SASB, or TCFD. In addition, they should use reporting indicators and metrics like greenhouse gas intensity, water consumption, or renewable energy share. External verification and assurance can also validate and enhance the credibility of their environmental reports; this could include third-party audits, certifications, or ratings.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?