For oil and gas companies, reporting provides a robust platform for describing how strategic issues—such as climate change and energy—are being addressed through long-term plans and current initiatives. For example, the report can explain how the company is managing the socio-economic impacts or environmental, health and safety risks of operating in different locations. Once published, this information enables further communication and engagement with stakeholders. In the longer term, the benefits can provide:

• enhanced business value as investor confidence grows in response to evidence that the company is managing important risks and positioning itself to take advantage of emerging opportunities;
• improved operations as employees develop a deeper understanding of a company’s sustainability values, and performance indicators provide insight to support continuous improvement;
• strengthened relationships as local community leaders, civil society representatives, government officials and regulators, and other key stakeholders learn how the company responsibly manages sustainability issues; and
• enhanced trust and credibility as customers, suppliers and the wider society understand the company’s brand, operations and products.