PUBLIC ENVIRONMENTAL REPORTING FOR THE OIL AND GAS INDUSTRY

Abstract

Acceptance by governments and the public is crucially important for high profile oil and gas exploration and production companies. Many people are pre-disposed against such companies because the environmental and social impacts of their activities are perceived to outweigh the benefits. Leading multi-nationals such as the Royal Dutch/Shell Group have seen the benefits of a recent concerted effort to engage their stakeholders. Shell and other multi-nationals are using public environmental reporting as a means of better communicating their performance. Public environmental reporting has been slow to be adopted in Australia but there may be advantages for oil and gas companies in Australia to be seen to be leaders in this field rather than laggards, particularly with the advent of compulsory public reporting as required by the National Pollutant Inventory.