Oil and gas companies can work towards a low-emissions future while contributing to a healthier and more prosperous world aligned with the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, said a report.

IPIECA, a global oil and gas industry association in collaboration with the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD), has launched “Accelerating action: An SDG Roadmap for the oil and gas sector “.

The Roadmap was developed in response to the critical need for concerted action and coordinated solutions as the world approaches the 2030 deadline to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), with the global Covid-19 pandemic reversing progress on many of the SDGs.

IPIECA Executive Director Brian Sullivan said: “Achieving the SDGs by 2030 will require unprecedented collaboration. The Roadmap aligns the oil and gas industry around the SDGs, presenting a shared vision for transformational action and a platform to form cross-sector partnerships and alliances to achieve the SDGs.”

Building on the IPIECA-UNDP-IFC Mapping the oil and gas industry to the Sustainable Development Goals: An Atlas, and the SDG Sector Roadmap Guidelines developed by WBCSD in 2018, the Roadmap outlines over 90 actions - mapped against SDG targets – which go beyond business as usual and aim to catalyse the realisation of the goals.  

WBCSD President and CEO Peter Bakker said: “We hope that this important Roadmap can help to establish a standard for global best practice with regard to how the oil and gas sector and its value chain can drive the transformations that are urgently needed to realise the ambitions of the SDGs on the road to 2030.”

While the oil and gas industry has the potential contribute to all 17 SDGs, the Roadmap highlights 10 SDGs where the industry can have the biggest impact by driving innovations in its own operations and across the supply chain. These 10 priority SDGs underpin 8 impact opportunities grouped into 3 interconnected systemic themes of climate, nature and people.

For each impact opportunity the Roadmap outlines impact pathways comprised of a series of short, medium and long-term actions for IPIECA and oil and gas companies which involve scaling up good practices on climate action, environmental responsibility and social performance, while also recognising the importance of the energy transition in realising the world’s ambition to achieve net-zero emissions under the Paris Agreement.

The Roadmap also identifies where to focus collaboration and provides a platform to form industry and cross sector partnerships to further amplify SDG impact.

The launch of the Roadmap forms part of IPIECA and its members ongoing strategic efforts to align the sector around the SDGs. IPIECA will embed the Roadmap actions in its workstreams and lead cross sector engagement to enable industry action, innovation and partnerships across the next decade.

This Roadmap leverages WBCSD’s SDG Sector Roadmap framework, which was launched in 2018 and has supported a wide range of industries to explore, articulate and realise their collective potential to advance the ambitions of the SDGs.

Ivanka Mamic, Senior Vice President for Sustainability at bp, said: “IPIECA-WBCSD's SDG Roadmap for the oil and gas sector recognises the need for action on sustainability, the role for companies in contributing and the importance of collaboration. bp also recognises this and is in action including working towards delivering on our net zero ambition and recently launching our new aims on improving people’s lives and caring for the planet.”

Jerry Wascom, Vice President Operations Excellence, Safety, Security, Health & Environment at ExxonMobil, said: “The United Nations has adopted the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to achieve significant progress on global economic, social and environmental challenges by 2030. Although directed at governments, the private sector and civil society play an important role in support of governments’ national plans. ExxonMobil contributes to 17 SDGs and welcomes the guidance provided in the IPIECA-WBCSD SDG Roadmap for the oil and gas sector, as the industry’s energy and products are integral to sustainable development.” – TradeArabia News Service