Our global businesses follow specific, well-defined processes that help manage sustainability issues as we begin a new venture, from the initial phases of identifying a potential opportunity through project development and operations.
Assessing Risk
The company has several processes in place to identify and manage potential health, safety, environmental, reputational, human rights, security and social risks over the entire lifecycle of the company’s assets. ConocoPhillips’ project authorization guidelines require that any new business venture identifies such risks, in addition to technical, commercial and political constraints. A new-venture project team must ensure that the identified risks and constraints are understood, documented and addressed in order for the project to obtain approval. In addition, our new-country entry process includes specific questions on potential human rights risk, and we also assess human rights risk during our due-diligence efforts prior to entering into new partnerships or acquisitions. For additional detail, please see our section on integration of sustainability commitments in New Ventures.
Project Development
In order to identify environmental, social and human rights issues during project development, project teams use a sustainable development scorecard and assessments. This process is required for all projects that require board review and is strongly encouraged for all other projects. These tools remain active throughout the development phase of the project. As the project evolves, managers update and record new risks on a risk register. They incorporate steps to mitigate these risks into the development management plans and keep company management informed of how risks are being addressed.
The scorecard uses a qualitative risk-based scoring system to assess whether our sustainable development commitments have been properly addressed during planning. It enables decision-makers to assess a project’s readiness to proceed to the next stage from a sustainable development perspective. During project development, the completed scorecard provides a concise visual summary of a project’s continued alignment with our principles. It also encourages project teams to take a life-cycle perspective by considering at the start of a project those issues that will become relevant during the operational and eventual decommissioning phases.
The scorecard fosters discussion of sustainable development issues among project team members, and between the project team and decision makers. These issues are logged into our risk tracking system for management throughout the project development process. In addition to the issues raised in the scorecard discussions, this process also enables the project team to set objectives for sustainability issues in each phase of the project.
Associated with the scorecard are two additional important processes; a social and environmental impact assessment and a formal stakeholder engagement plan. These provide a baseline understanding of the existing social dynamics and environmental considerations within a location prior to our involvement, help identify important issues and potential effects that should be considered, and allow for continued learning as the project progresses.
Health, Safety, Environmental and Social Assessments
We conduct assessments to identify how our business practices might affect communities and ecosystems in areas where project development is planned. By identifying specific issues and the requirements of the host country, we can assess potential impact and how those issues can be avoided or mitigated. In determining what issues to investigate during the assessment, we begin with the host country’s legal requirements, and supplement these as needed in order to address the issues covered by our company’s HSE standards and sustainable development commitments, including our human rights position.
Once a project is ready for operation, the Health, Safety and Environment management system and other company sustainability programs help define company expectations and provide direction for managing environmental and social issues. It is the asset manager’s responsibility to direct asset sustainable development performance. Audits carried out by corporate and business unit staff are a key process by which we assure these expectations are being met.
Operations
Once a project is ready for operation, the Health, Safety and Environment management system and other company sustainability programs help define company expectations and provide direction for managing environmental and social issues. It is the asset manager’s responsibility to direct asset sustainable development performance. Audits carried out by corporate and business unit staff are a key process by which we assure these expectations are being met. These tools are described in further depth under each topic heading throughout our Web site. For more information, please see our sections on Health, Safety and Environment Policy, Management System and Audits, Safety and Occupational Health, and Performance Metrics.