October 2009 | International Gas Union 1 4 International Gas Union | October 2009

International Gas Union (IGU)News, views and knowledge on gas – worldwide

Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development International Gas Union

OfficeoftheSecretaryGeneral c/o Statoil ASA 0246 Oslo Norway

Telephone: +4751990000 Fax: +4722536318 Email: secrigu@statoil.com Website: www.igu.org

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IGU members

IGUTheInternationalGasUnionisaworldwidenon-profit organisation aimed at promoting the technical andeconomicprogressofthegasindustry.TheUnionhasmorethan100membersworldwideonallcontinents. Themembers of IGU are national associations and corporationsofthegasindustry.IGU’sworkingorgani- sationcoversallaspectsofthegasindustry,includingexploration and production, storage, LNG, distribu-tionandnaturalgasutilisationinallmarketsegments.IGU promotes technical and economic progress ofthegasindustryemphasisingenvironmentalperform-anceworldwide. Formore information, please visit www.igu.org

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The Sustainable DevelopmentTheunderlyingtenetoftheIGUGuidingPrinciplesforSustain-ableDevelopmentisthatthegasindustryintegrateseconomic,environmentalandsocialfactorsinallitsbusinesspractices.Thegasindustryfurtherrecognisesthatcontinuousimprovementof corporate performance towards sustainable development is criticalforsuccessfulbusiness.

The gas industry’s corporate performance for Sustainable Development is guided by the following declarations:

•TheUniversalDeclarationofHumanRights,1948

•TheILODeclarationonFundamentalPrinciplesandRightsatWorks,1998

•TheRioDeclarationonSustainableDevelopmentanditsAgendaforthe21stcentury,1992

•TheUnitedNationsGlobalCompact,1999

•TheOECDPrinciplesofCorporateGovernance,1999

•TheMillenniumSummit,2000

•TheUnitedNationsConventionagainstCorruption(UNCAC),2005

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Environmentally sound by making choices today that work tomorrowContinuous improvement in the performance of the gas industry is of vital importance as the world moves towards a sustainable energy future. The gas industry shall:

•combatclimatechangecooperatingwithallpartiesinvolvedinthegaschaintomini-mise environmental impact

•incorporateenvironmentalcriteriainbusinessmanagement,seekmaximumefficiency,assessenvironmentalimpactsofactivitiesandadoptaprecautionaryapproachtopre-ventseriousorirreversibleenvironmentaldegradationandpreservethebiodiversityinthenaturalsettingswhereweperformouractivities

•establishpermanentplanstorenovateitsassets,theaimbeingtoreducegasemissionstotheatmosphereasfaraspossible

•fulfilalloperationsinanenvironmentallyresponsiblemannerandcommittoimproving industrywideenvironmentalperformancetakingactionbeyondthecontinuousenforce- mentofapplicableregulations,takingintoaccountinternationalstandardsandlegisla-tivetrendsinplanninginterventionthatmaycausesignificantenvironmentalimpact

•raiseawarenessandpromoteGoodPracticesamongemployeesandcustomerstocon-ducttheiractivitiesinanenvironmentallyresponsiblemanner

•integratetheenvironmentalvariableinselectingandevaluatingsuppliersandcontrac-torsandalsointheplanningofnewprojectsordevelopmentsofthosethatalreadyexist

•promotetheuseofbestavailabletechnologiesallthroughthegaschainandestablishpermanentplanstorenovatethegasinfrastructuresandassets

•developandmaintainemergencypreparednessplanstobepreparedforandrespondtoemergenciesinatimelyandeffectivemanner

•encouragecleanandefficientgasutilisationtoimprovelocalconditionsandcontributetoareductionofgreenhousegasemissionspromotingtheuseofthebestavailabletechnologiesforbothitsownfacilitiesandthoseofitscustomers

•supportresearchontheenvironmentalimpactsfromthegasindustry’sactivitiesandonthemeansofminimisingthoseadverseimpacts

•promoteanysolutioncombiningtheuseofnaturalgasandrenewableenergiesinan efficientway

•promotecontinuousimprovementbymeansofEnvironmentalManagementSystems

•communicateinanopen,transparentandobjectivemanneronenvironmentalmatterstostakeholders:employees,authorities,customers,shareholdersandthepublic

Socially responsible by supporting healthy communitiesThe gas industry is committed to ensuring the health and safety of its employees, subcontractors, customers and the public affected by its operations, products and services. The IGU accepts its responsibility to contribute to society with its knowl-edge, management capacity and creativity, maintaining permanent dialogue with society to learn of its needs and attempt to satisfy them, and so increase its credibility and prestige.

The gas industry in IGU member countries shall recognise the responsibility to support healthy employees, contractors and communities by:

•assessing social impacts of its activities

•continuouslyimprovingEnvironment,Health&Safety(EHS)performancethrougheffectiveimplementationofEHSManagementSystems

•implementingleading-edgeemploymentstandardsandpractices

•easingtheworkingconditionsofitsemployees,byoptimisingthefacilitiesdesign and operations

•investinginemploymenttrainingprogrammesthatbenefittheindustryandcommunities

•prioritisinglocalemploymentandsuppliers,whenpossibletechnically,economicallyandlegally

•developinganopendialoguewithstakeholderssuchascustomers,employees,govern-ments and Non Governmental Organisations

•gatheringandpromptlyrespondingtocommunitycomplaints

•partneringwithcommunity-basedorganisationsthatsupportbusinesssuccess

•incorporatinghumanrightsandlabourstandardsinitsoperationsandinthepurchas-ingpolicy

•promotingtechnologytransferofhighlyefficientandlowemissionstechnologiestodevelopingcountries,takingadvantageoftheCleanDevelopmentMechanismsoftheKyotoProtocol

•avoidingdiscrimination,encouragingdiversityofopinions,perspectives,cultures,agesand genders

•encouragingmeasuresofequalitybetweenmenandwomen,promotingfamilyrecon-ciliationanddenouncingchildlabour

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IntegrityCompel IGU members to act ethically, honestly and with integrity, respecting values, principles and codes of professional conduct that contribute to increasing the confidence that society has in our organisation. The guiding principles of this behaviour are:

•rejectingcorruptionandbribesinthedevelopmentofouractivityandestablishingthemeanstopreventandfightthem

•supportingtheprinciplesoftheUnitedNationsGlobalCompactaswellastheOECDPrinciplesofCorporateGovernance

•respectingalltheaspectsoftheUnitedNations’UniversalDeclarationofHumanRights

Means of implementation•theworkonsustainabledevelopmentisbasedonaplan,do,checkandactapproachto achievecontinuousimprovements

•environmental,socialandeconomicconsiderationsareintegratedintotheprocessof planning,constructionandoperation

•allemployeesreceiveeducationonenvironmentallysound,sociallyresponsibleand economicallyviablebehaviouranddecisionmakingtoassureeffectiveimplementation ofasustainabledevelopmentapproach

•acomprehensiveview,from“cradletograve”,isappliedintheevaluationofthe impactsandbenefitsoftheactivities,whenestablishingandimplementingcorporate policies,goals,programmesandprocedures

•assessmentsofcompliancewithcompanyprocedures,isguaranteedbyregularaudits andrelevantreportsareprovidedtogovernment,employeesandotherstakeholders

•sustainable development is measured and reported using performance indicators as a reference for improvements

Economically viable by supporting sustainable developmentsA sustainable future needs a strong economy to support the social, environmental and other programmes. The gas industry in IGU member countries shall support viable economies by:

•providingmeaningfulandfairlypaidemploymenttocommunities

•supplyingareliableenergywithatransparent,non-discriminatory,pricespolicythatmakesitavailabletoallthepossiblecustomers

•contributingrevenuefromsales,propertyandincometaxes

•supportingtransparencyandsettinginternalcodesofconductbetweenitsemployees

•maintainingeconomicallyviableconditionsfornecessaryinvestments

•designinganddevelopinginnovationandresearchprogramslookingforcompetitive-nessandlongtermsocialresponsibility