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August 31, 2002
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Partnership of Conservation Organizations and Oil & Gas Companies Named Among Top Global Sustainable Development Partnerships at World Summit
Washington, DC/Johannesburg, South Africa – The Energy & Biodiversity Initiative (EBI), a partnership of conservation organizations and oil & gas companies, has been selected by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) as one of the winners of the 2002 World Summit Business Awards for Sustainable Development Partnerships. The EBI, convened by the Center for Environmental Leadership in Business, a division of Conservation International, is developing guidance tools and recommendations for integrating biodiversity into oil and gas development. The fine EBI report and supporting products can be found online at www.TheEBI.org.
The ICC/UNEP selection panel has recognized the Energy & Biodiversity Initiative as one of four partnerships that has made a global contribution to sustainable development. The EBI is working to be a positive force for biodiversity conservation by bringing together four major energy companies and five leading conservation organizations to share experiences and build on intellectual capital to create value and influence key audiences. Participants are BP, ChevronTexaco, Conservation International, Fauna & Flora International, Shell International, Smithsonian Institution, Statoil, The Nature Conservancy, and The World Conservation Union (IUCN). EBI participants also consult with other stakeholders from industry, academia, and the environmental community to integrate a wide range of guidance tools and recommendations into a final product with broad dissemination.
“While the Energy & Biodiversity Initiative participants are still hard at work formulating final recommendations, we are thrilled that the ICC and UNEP have recognized the innovative partnerships that have come together to implement this initiative. The fact that organizations that are not always fully aligned are now working together for biodiversity protection represents a new way of thinking in how environmental change must happen in the future,” said Dr. Assheton Carter, Energy & Mining Program Director at the Center. “We believe that the recommendations produced by this unique partnership will have a positive impact on the oil and gas industry and future models of sustainable development partnerships.”
The award was presented at the World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, South Africa. The ICC and UNEP received over 120 partnership nominations from 37 countries - involving businesses, industry sector associations, non-governmental organizations, governments and international agencies and institutions. The International Selection Panel, under the Chairmanship of Lord Holme of Cheltenham, completed final assessment and evaluation of the submitted nominations.
Launched in January 2001, the EBI is producing a guidance document for the oil & gas industry that will report its recommendations along with an associated toolkit. The following areas will be addressed: the rationale for integrating biodiversity conservation into oil and gas operations; identification and implementation of on-the-ground best technical and management practices; development of metrics and performance indicators for measuring the positive and negative impact of oil and gas development on biodiversity; and criteria for deciding whether to undertake activities in sensitive environments. Publication of the guidance document is expected to take place in the first quarter of 2003.
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CONTACT
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Jason Anderson
CELB
(202) 912-1464
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Conservation International’s Center for Environmental Leadership in Business (CELB) provides a new forum for collaboration between the private sector and the environmental community. Created in partnership with Conservation International (CI) and the Ford Motor Company, CELB operates as a division of CI and is governed by a distinct executive board of leaders from the business and environmental communities-engaging the private sector worldwide in creating solutions to critical global environmental problems in which industry plays a defining role. For further information about CELB, please visit celb.org.
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MEDIA CONTACT
Katrin Olson
CELB
[email protected]
703-341-2768
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