BP 2014 Annual Report Download - page 46

Environment and society
Throughout the life cycle of our projects and
operations, we aim to manage the environmental
and social impacts of our presence.
 Almost three quarters of our businesses with the potential to spill oil
have updated oil spill planning scenarios and response strategies.
 We actively monitor and report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to
improve our understanding and management of potential carbon risks.
 We are working towards aligning with the United Nations Guiding
Principles on Business and Human Rights.
2013 direct GHG
Acquisitions
Divestments
Operational
changes
Real sustainable
reductions
2014 direct GHG
Greenhouse gas emissionsa
(MteCO
2 equivalent)
46.0
50.0
54.0
58.0
+0.8 –3
50.3b
48.6
–0.1
+0.6
a This is based on BP’s equity share basis.
b The reported 2013 figure of 49.2 MteCO2e has been amended to 50.3 MteCO2e.
Managing our impacts
Our operating sites can have a lifespan of several decades and our
operations are expected to work to reduce their impacts and risks.
This starts in early project planning and continues through operations
and decommissioning.
Our operating management system (OMS) includes practices that set
out requirements and guidance for how we identify and manage
environmental and social impacts. The practices apply to our major
projects , projects that involve new access, those that could affect an
international protected area and some BP acquisition negotiations.
In the early planning stages of these projects, we complete a screening
process to identify the most significant environmental and social impacts.
We completed the process for 19 projects in 2014. Following screening,
projects are required to carry out impact assessments, identify mitigation
measures and implement these in project design, construction and
operations.
BP’s environmental expenditure in 2014 totalled $4,024 million (2013
$4,288 million, 2012 $7,230 million). For a breakdown of environmental
expenditure see page 225. This figure includes a charge of $190 million
relating to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill. For reference, expenditure related to
the Gulf of Mexico oil spill was a credit of $66 million in 2013 and a charge
of $919 million in 2012. For Regulation of the group’s business –
Environmental regulation see page 225.
We review our management of material issues such as greenhouse gas
emissions, water, sensitive and protected areas and oil spill response.
This includes examining emerging risks and actions taken to mitigate
them.
Oil spill preparedness and response
Our requirements for oil spill preparedness and response planning, and
crisis management incorporate what we have learned over many years of
operation, and specifically from the Deepwater Horizon accident. Almost
three quarters of our businesses with the potential to spill oil have updated
oil spill planning scenarios and response strategies, in line with our new
requirements issued in 2012. We aim to complete the remaining updates
by the end of 2016.
Meeting the requirements is a substantial piece of work and we believe
this has already resulted in a significant increase in our oil spill response
capability. For example, this includes using specialized modelling
techniques that help predict the impact of potential spills, the provision of
stockpiles of dispersants and the use of new tools for environmental
monitoring, such as aerial and underwater robotic vehicles.
Enhancing response capabilities
We consider the environmental and socio-economic sensitivities of a
region to help inform oil spill response planning. Sensitivity mapping helps
us to identify the various types of habitats, resources and communities
that could be affected by oil spills and develop appropriate response
strategies. We are implementing a mapping system that brings together
geographical, operational, infrastructure, socio-economic, biological and
habitat information to help us identify and better understand potential
impacts of an oil spill.
We are also testing the applicability of a number of emerging technologies
for oil spill response, including the use of robotic vehicles with camera
sensors to locate spills and provide remote visibility for oil spill response at
sea.
We seek to work collaboratively with government regulators in planning
for oil spill response, with the aim of improving any potential future
response. For example, in 2014 we shared lessons on dispersant use and
oil spill response technologies with government regulators in Angola, the
UK and the US.
See page 39 for information on volume of oil spilled by our operations in
2014, including volume of oil unrecovered.
Climate change
BP believes that climate change is an important long-term issue that
justifies global action. We are taking steps to address carbon risk and
collaborating with others on climate change issues. For example, we
require our operations to incorporate energy use considerations in their
business plans and to assess, prioritize and implement technologies and
systems that could improve usage. We factor a carbon cost into our own
investments and engineering designs for large new projects, and invest in
lower-carbon energy products. We seek to address potential climate
change impacts on our new projects in the design phase. We have
guidance for existing operations and projects on how to assess potential
climate risks and impacts – to enable mitigation steps to be incorporated
into project planning, design and operations.
Greenhouse gas emissions
We report on direct and indirect GHG emissions on a carbon dioxide-
equivalent (CO2e) basis. Direct emissions include CO2 and methane from
the combustion of fuel and the operation of facilities, and indirect
emissions include those resulting from the purchase of electricity, heat,
steam or cooling. In 2014 we changed our GHG reporting boundary from
a BP equity-share basis to an operational control basis.
Our approach to reporting GHG emissions broadly follows the IPIECA/
API/IOGP Petroleum Industry Guidelines for Reporting GHG Emissions
(the IPIECA guidelines). We calculate emissions based on the fuel
consumption and fuel properties for major sources rather than the use
of generic emission factors. We do not include nitrous oxide,
hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride as
they are not material and it is not practical to collect this data.
BP Annual Report and Form 20-F 201442