Conducting environmentally responsible operations and playing a leading role in the energy transition are fundamental elements of our strategy. We support the Paris Agreement climate goals and are focusing on near-term actions to reduce emissions from the assets we operate. These actions create a credible pathway for us to achieve net zero. In addition, we are investing in CCS, with a leading position in Europe.
Pathway to net zero
Our short and medium-term targets provide a credible pathway for us to achieve net zero over the longer term. We will maintain focus on reducing our own emissions and, if necessary, mitigate remaining emissions by investing in independently verified carbon credits. We will continue to review our approach regularly to account for changes in our portfolio, protocols and other factors.
To support the global energy transition, we will continue to invest in projects to enable CCS. Our CCS projects have the potential to store multiples of our own Scope 1 and 2 gross operated emissions by early in the next decade, and more than our Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions on an equity basis by 2050.
We are committed to reducing methane emissions and are a member of the Oil & Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, a reporting and mitigation programme of the United Nations Environment Programme. As part of this, we are working to achieve the Gold Standard for methane emissions reporting and reduction.
We are committed to a 50 per cent reduction in our gross operated Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2030 against our 2018 baseline. Over the longer term, we have set an aspiration to be net zero by 2050 for our gross operated Scope 1 and 2 CO2e.
Managing our environmental impacts
We apply recognised environmental management practices such as the mitigation hierarchy, the waste hierarchy, the precautionary approach, best available techniques, and the ISO 14001 environmental management principles. These environmental management practices are embedded in our governance, risk and performance framework.
In the planning phase of our projects, we conduct environmental and social impact assessments. We use the outcomes to identify the measures we can put in place in our operations to lessen that impact. We then monitor the impacts throughout the operation’s life and conduct environmental audits to ensure compliance with our standards and to identify further opportunities for improvement. We work hard to avoid pollution and to continually assess the related risks associated with our production and other activities.
Decommissioning
Our focus is on ensuring the safety of our workforce, protecting the environment and minimising the impact on communities during and after closure. Most of our decommissioning activities are in the UK, where they are aligned with the North Sea Transition Authority’s Decommissioning Strategy and Stewardship Expectations and comply with the decommissioning guidance notes prepared by the UK Government. As part of this, environmental appraisals are submitted to assess the potential impacts from undertaking decommissioning activities at each field.
We undertake decommissioning outside the UK in compliance with national statutory requirements. In circumstances where these are not in place, we apply the same standards we follow in the UK.
