Oil Search will be a leader in delivering sustainability, driven by integrity, innovation and partnership with governments and the communities with whom we work.
Our approach to sustainability is focused on ensuring sustainable livelihoods for future generations in our zones of operation, by working in collaboration with the current generations to ensure sustainable solutions to their needs.
Although these regions may be rich in resources today, there will come a point in the future when their resources will be exhausted, and the local people will not be able to rely on resource wealth to sustain their livelihoods.
We are acutely aware of the fundamental barriers to Sustainable Development within our zones of operation, and are committed to assisting the national governments and people to surmount these challenges in the coming years.
We appreciate that our success as an oil and gas producer is intrinsically linked to our ability to monitor and manage the environmental and social impacts of our operations. We have therefore implemented detailed socio-economic monitoring practices in our local communities and a rigorous ISO14001 certified Environmental Management System.
We also recognise that, given the dynamic nature of developing country operations, our strong financial performance is largely dependent on our ability to monitor and manage the social and environmental issues unique to our zones of operation. We therefore place a large emphasis on stakeholder engagement, particularly with local communities, NGOs, and government so that significant issues are identified early and addressed promptly.
Oil Search’s Sustainability Steering Group (SSG) was formed in 2011 and is an executive level management group, with the delegated authority of the Board. It is responsible for recommending and executing strategic sustainability initiatives and reports to the Board on material sustainability issues. The SSG is supported by the Sustainable Development Coordination Group (SDCG) and the Sustainability Operations Group (SOG) both of which will commence in 2012. The SDCG meets quarterly and will manage, coordinate and communicate community development activities, whilst the SOG will meet monthly and drive the integration of environmental aspects of the Sustainability Strategy into operational performance.
The Charters for these groups are available here.
For further information on our governance activities see http://www.oilsearch.com/Corporate-Governance/Overview.html.
As a PNG company, we are committed to contributing towards a sustainable future for PNG and its people. As such, we have two ongoing priority issues:
Through 2009 and 2010, we carried out an in-depth study of core stakeholder issues. Following various surveys, workshops and interviews we were able to categorise raised concerns into several distinct problem areas. Following our strategic review, it was decided that the Company would address the majority of these concerns by focusing on several core issues. These are identified as our priority issues for 2011-2015: