Biodiversity Management
At Galp, we are dedicated to safeguarding biodiversity and ecosystem services in all geographies in which we operate, and to ensure its preservation over the entire lifecycle of our projects. This takes on particular significance given the expansion of our activities.
We are committed not to operate/explore/mine/drill in World Heritage areas and IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) Category I-IV protected areas.
All projects are subject to environmental impact assessment and monitoring, applying the mitigation hierarchy (avoid, minimize, restore and offset) in areas in which we operate with globally or nationally important biodiversity. We introduced into our analysis the approach set out under the Natural Capital Protocol in order to measure the economic value of environmental impacts and reflect the value added to society.
If we identify sensitive areas that may be affected by projects, we assess the risk and, if necessary, define a Biodiversity Action Plan.
When and if a significant biodiversity impact occurs throughout the project life cycle, we implement the actions necessary to minimize the risk of any adverse effects, to the minimum acceptable level (i.e. designed to have no biodiversity net loss, when possible - No Net Loss).
Over the years, we have developed procedures to strengthen our commitment to minimizing the impact of our activities on biodiversity and ecosystem services. These include internal guides to integrating biodiversity into environmental and social impact assessments (ESIASs) and to identifying and implementing suitable solutions to the management of upstream activities in areas with high biodiversity. These procedures are aligned with international and national law, such as:
- International Maritime Organization (IMO)
- International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP)
- International Petroleum Industry Environmental Conservation Association (IPIECA)
We participate in O&G sector initiatives and working groups that contribute to the development of knowledge about good practices in the management of biodiversity and ecosystem services. We aim to improve and deepen our knowledge on how to recognize and manage the impacts of biodiversity and ecosystem services.