In 2005, IPIECA released the Oil and gas industry guidance on voluntary sustainability reporting. The Guidance has been used extensively by IPIECA member companies and non-member oil and gas companies to produce both external (corporate) and internal reports.

Since 2008, IPIECA, together with the American Petroleum Institute (API), and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP), has been working on a major revision to the Guidance. The second edition will provide more precise, quantitative indicators in the more mature areas of environmental and health and safety reporting to promote consistent reporting across the oil and gas industry. It will recommend mainly qualitative approaches to reporting on social and economic issues, with increased focus on impacts and outcomes. It will provide more guidance on how companies can develop their reporting process to maximize value. A tiered system of Reporting Elements will provide more help for new reporters and also looks forward to emerging good practices to stretch experienced reporters.

The Task Force working on the revision is comprised of over 85 members from 19 international and national oil and gas companies and five trade associations. The task force, which contributes substantial technical expertise, includes industry specialists in key topic areas: environmental, health and safety, and social and economic. In order to best serve the oil and gas reporting community’s needs, IPIECA and the Global Reporting Initiative and their members in common (BP, ENI, Hess, Petrobras, Shell and Statoil) are working towards alignment wherever possible. The GRI G3 Reporting Framework has been an important reference point for IPIECA’s work.

IPIECA has convened a stakeholder panel made up of external stakeholders with expertise in sustainability reporting to provide detailed input into the revision process and development of the second edition of the Guidance. Broader stakeholder input has been solicited via posting of a draft of the revised guidance and two online surveys.

The new IPIECA Guidance will be launched in October 2010. Please see the 'Reporting' section of the IPIECA website for further details.