Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development

The underlying tenet of the IGU Guiding Principles for Sustainable Development is that the gas industry integrates economic, environmental and social factors in all its business practices. The gas industry further recognises that continuous improvement of corporate performance towards sustainable development is critical for successful business. 

The gas industry's corporate performance for Sustainable Development is guided by the following declarations: 

• The Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948
• The ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Works, 1998
• The Rio Declaration on Sustainable Development and its Agenda for the 21st century, 1992

Environmentally sound by making choices today that work tomorrow 

Continuous improvement in the performance of the gas industry is of vital importance as the world moves towards a sustainable energy future. The gas industry shall:

• co-operate with all parties involved in the gas chain to minimise environmental impact
• assess environmental impacts of activities and adopt a precautionary approach to prevent serious or irreversible environmental degradation
• fulfil all operations in an environmentally responsible manner and commit to improving industry wide environmental performance taking legal obligations as minimum reference criteria
• develop and maintain emergency preparedness plans to be prepared for and respond to emergencies in a timely and effective manner
• incorporate environmental values into purchasing decisions
• educate and motivate employees and customers to conduct their activities in an environmentally responsible manner
• encourage clean and efficient gas utilisation to improve local conditions and contribute to a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions
• support research on the environmental impacts from the gas industry's activities and on the means of minimising such adverse impacts
• support efficient and combined utilisation of renewable energy and natural gas by investing in research and pilot programmes
• communicate in an open, transparent and objective manner on environmental matters to employees, authorities, customers, shareholders and the public

Socially responsible by supporting healthy communities

The gas industry is committed to ensuring the health and safety of its employees, subcontractors, customers and the public affected by its operations, products and services. The gas industry in IGU member countries shall recognise the responsibility to support healthy employees, contractors and communities by:

• continuously improving Environment, Health & Safety (EHS) performance through effective implementation of EHS Management Systems
• implementing leading-edge employment standards and practices
• investing in employment training programmes that benefit the industry and communities
• prioritise local employment and suppliers, when possible technically, economically and legally
• developing an open dialogue with interested parties such as customers, employees, governments and Non Government Organizations
• gathering and promptly responding to community complaints
• partnering with community-based organizations that support business success
• incorporating human rights and labour standards in the purchasing policy
• promoting technology transfer of highly efficient and low emissions technologies to developing countries

Economically viable by supporting sustainable developments

A sustainable future needs a strong economy to support the social, environmental and other programmes. The gas industry in IGU member countries shall support viable economies by

• providing meaningful and fairly paid employment to communities
• delivering reliable, competitively priced energy to local industry
• contributing revenue from sales, property and income taxes
• supporting transparency
•  developing and adhering to well-designed anti-corruption policies and implementation strategies
• maintaining economically viable conditions for necessary investments

Means of implementation

The work on sustainable development is based on a plan, do, check and act approach to achieve continuous improvements. 

Environmental, social and economic considerations are integrated into the process of planning, construction and operation. 

All employees receive education on environmentally sound, socially responsible and economically viable behaviour and decision-making to assure effective implementation of a sustainable development approach. 

A comprehensive view, from "cradle to grave", is applied in the evaluation of the impacts and benefits of the activities, when establishing and implementing corporate policies, goals, programmes and procedures.

Assessments of compliance with the legal requirements as a minimum, but also with company procedures, is guaranteed by regular audits and relevant reports are provided to government, employees and other interested parties. 

Sustainable development is measured and reported using performance indicators as a reference for improvements.