Biodiversity
The rich biodiversity of our planet is under threat. We understand that transformative change is needed and recognize there is also an intrinsic link between the need for global action on biodiversity and climate change. As part of our purpose – to reimagine energy for people and our planet – we are taking action to restore, maintain and enhance nature
Enhancing biodiversity
Our aim 16 is making a positive impact through our actions to restore, maintain and enhance biodiversity where we work.
We will do this by putting our biodiversity position into action. In doing so, we expect that from 2022 all new bp projects in scope will have plans in place aiming to achieve net positive impact, with a target for 90% of actions to be delivered within five years of project approval.
What we are going to do
- We commit not to operate any new oil and gas exploration or production activities inside the boundary of officially inscribed UNESCO World Heritage sites; and inside the boundary of Strict Nature Reserves (International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN category Ia) or Wilderness Areas (IUCN category Ib)) as listed on 1 January 2020.
- We will aim to achieve a net positive impact on biodiversity in our new projects – and our focus in 2021 was on developing our methodology for doing so. We worked with Fauna & Flora International (FFI) to do this and to inform how the methodology might work in practice we evaluated it on three major projects and eight smaller ones.
- We will aim to enhance biodiversity around our existing major operating sites.
- We will support biodiversity restoration and the sustainable use of natural resources.
The biodiversity position provides additional information on each of these points.
Protected areas
We review bp activities in or near protected areas each year and disclose where bp is operating. We also engage with others to make sure we keep up to speed with best practice, including conservation organizations.
Working with others
We are working to establish partnerships with global conservation organizations to support the delivery of these activities and will continue to work with others to promote the need for action on biodiversity.
We have been integrating biodiversity into our practices and decision-making for over 15 years. We plan to strengthen this further as part of our wider strategic approach to sustainability and to periodically review this position.
We will continue to work with governments, industry associations, and businesses including our suppliers and our joint ventures, to influence and promote collective action on biodiversity.
Our engagement with others includes:
- our partnership with Fauna & Flora International
- participation in the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UN CBD) Business and Biodiversity Forum
- promoting the need for action on biodiversity as a member of Business for Nature and WBSCD
- consultation with the UK Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs about the importance of making biodiversity a mainstream consideration for businesses.
bp and biodiversity in 2021
The UN Biodiversity Conference (COP15) Part 1 emphasized the need for action to put biodiversity on a path to recovery by 2030. The Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD) was launched to develop a framework against which businesses disclose their nature-related risks and impacts, and the Science-Based Targets for Nature (SBTN) is developing nature-related targets and metrics for businesses. We joined both the TNFD Forum and the SBTN corporate engagement programme.
