President’s introduction
This is BP Australia’s first Sustainability Report for several years and it comes at a time of robust growth and financial performance for our business, but also a time in which both Australia and the world face new and difficult challenges. The ways in which these challenges are addressed are fundamental to our company’s long-term sustainability. It is critical therefore that we inform our employees, our partners, our governments, and our communities, how we are addressing the risks that we are faced with, and our position on how these challenges should be confronted.
I am particularly pleased to be able to inform you that in 2007-08 we improved our performance across the majority of safety indicators and managed our operations without a single fatality. This result is driven by making safe and reliable operations the highest of our priorities, and is a demonstration of the attention our employees place on reducing the risk of our operations and improving safety.
High and volatile prices across global energy markets, a surge in energy demand in our region, and an evolving Australian response to climate change have placed energy security at the centre of this country’s and BP’s challenges today. In today’s economic climate a consistent and secure supply of energy is increasingly important for the continued growth of the Australian economy. Over the past year we have invested in strategic infrastructure across our business, bolstering our ability to provide a reliable source of fuel to our customers and ultimately improving Australia’s energy security. We believe that Australia should take a long-term approach to meeting its energy security needs, by allowing international energy markets to work and supporting investment in infrastructure capable of delivering a diverse and progressively lower carbon energy mix.
With increased public concern over fuel prices has come increased government scrutiny of the petroleum industry and proposals to further regulate prices. We understand these concerns and have been active in helping policy makers and motorists understand the local market and how it operates to deliver some of the lowest fuel prices in the OECD. Ultimately, it is BP’s view that we operate in a highly competitive industry, with prices shaped primarily by international factors. In this environment price regulation can only act to prevent an already efficient market from working to deliver the lowest prices to the consumer, and this is a position we will continue to advocate strongly.
We have contributed to efforts in Australia to raise the awareness of the impacts of climate change, and the recognition in recent years of the need for action has been an important outcome, but also one that presents our industry with a significant challenge. We have responded by being an early and ongoing participant in the development of a policy framework that will allow this country to mitigate its emissions while maintaining prosperity. We continue to advocate policy that enables markets to function effectively and that stimulates innovation without creating local disadvantage, believing this is the best route to developing low-carbon economy we all want.
We have contributed to efforts in Australia to raise the awareness of the impacts of climate change, and the recognition in recent years of the need for action has been an important outcome, but also one that presents our industry with a significant challenge. We have responded by being an early and ongoing participant in the development of a policy framework that will allow this country to mitigate its emissions while maintaining prosperity. We continue to advocate policy that enables markets to function effectively and that stimulates innovation without creating local disadvantage, believing this is the best route to developing low-carbon economy we all want.
Our advocacy for the environment is supported by our goal to continuously improve our own environmental performance. This certainly becomes more challenging as we grow, but it is a challenge we are addressing by a system that involves identifying our impacts, setting targets and then executing plans for improvement. As a result we have made some solid gains in our environmental performance across the business, and opportunities are already being considered to lower our impact in the future.
Over the years BP Australia has gained a reputation for the positive manner in which we manage the impacts of our business on the society and environments in which we operate. This report provides an accurate and comprehensive representation of performance in these areas and supports my view that the reputation we have created has not come about by chance.
We welcome your scrutiny of this report. It will contribute to the ability of each part of our business to ensure that the choices we make contribute to making BP a sustainable business.
Over the years BP Australia has gained a reputation for the positive manner in which we manage the impacts of our business on the society and environments in which we operate. This report provides an accurate and comprehensive representation of performance in these areas and supports my view that the reputation we have created has not come about by chance.
We welcome your scrutiny of this report. It will contribute to the ability of each part of our business to ensure that the choices we make contribute to making BP a sustainable business.
Gerry Hueston
President – BP Australia
December 2008
President – BP Australia
December 2008
Attestation note
The information on this page has been reviewed by Ernst & Young.
