As the nations across the globe today mark the World Environment Day today, attention is again being drawn to the myriad challenges of preserving a clean and sustainable environment despite an equally important need to engage in activities that will necessarily result in the production of substances and by-products that harm the environment.
According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the WED, which was first celebrated in 1972, has grown to become one of the main vehicles through which the UN stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and encourages political attention and action.
Through WED, the United Nations Environment Programme says it is able to personalise environmental issues and enable everyone to realise not only their responsibility, but also their power to become agents for change in support of sustainable and equitable development.
The theme for this year's WED celebrations – Think.Eat.Save. Think.Eat. Save is an anti-food waste and food loss campaign that encourages people to reduce wastage of food amid widespread hunger around the world. Indeed, FAO estimates that about a third of total food productions is either wasted or lost hence the need for collective action to halt this trend.
However, the energy industry had been the focal point of environmental issues in past decades and continues to be given the increasing awareness about the harmful effects of atmospheric pollution due to the heavy utilisation of hydrocarbon energy sources in industry, transportation and domestic settings as well as the "collateral damage" arising from oil pollution in exploration and production activity through accidents and in recent cases in Nigeria from deliberate sabotage of oil installations by oil thieves.
Oil firms operating in the country have regularly come under fire for widespread pollution in the Niger Delta region with debilitating effect on health and commercial activities such as fishing and farming in the rural communities while the authorities have had their own share of the blame for failing in their oversight activities.
However, in the past two decades, oil firms have taken concrete steps in adopting environment-friendly practices and provide cleaner energy sources increasing investments in gas infrastructure and supply mechanisms and alternative energy sources including bio-fuels and solar for example.
In Nigeria, the oil majors have taken steps to reduce flaring by increasing gas utilisation and adopting technologies to contain and curtail oil spills in operational areas. Indeed, most have developed environmentally responsible ways of doing business with more attention and resources being deployed to protecting the environment and people impacted by company activities.
Chevron, for example, has adopted that two key principles – 'Do it safely or not at all' and 'There is always time to do it right' – both aimed at improving the reliability and safety of everything it does do to prevent accidental releases, including spills; decommissioning and remediation of non-productive sites and development of Operational Excellence Management System for achieving outstanding environmental performance. Chevron uses OEMS to systematically manage issues regarding safety, health, the environment, reliability and efficiency.
It also relies on four environmental principles in underlining its commitment to doing business in environmentally responsible ways including taking the environment into consideration in all business decisions, reduction of environmental blue print and identifying and managing risks to reduce potential environmental impacts.
The company has also incorporate biodiversity protection in its operations through the Chevron Biodiversity Network which ensure protection of habitats near operational areas and is committed to the protection of freshwater resources and has developed an integrated corporate freshwater management strategy to enhance current processes, tools and guidance on water stewardship and management throughout the corporation.
Similarly, Mobil's Environment Policy fosters appropriate operating practices and training, and requires that company facilities be designed, operated and managed with the goal of preventing environmental incidents.
Its Protect Tomorrow. Today. initiative also guides management processes to continuously improve environmental performance while Environmental Business Planning has been incorporated into the annual business planning cycle.
The company has also developed robust environmental stewardship programmes, biodiversity and ecosystem services, site remediation and spill performance strategies minimise impact of spills and freshwater and waste management programmes to reduce the environmental footprint in the operation areas worldwide.
Its unique Environmental Drilling initiative includes the use of new Extended Reach Drilling technology to access oil reservoirs in offshore fields from land thereby reducing the need for offshore platforms in some oil regions and also the use of environmentally compatible base fluids for non-aqueous drilling fluid cuttings discharged at sea.
Mobil also has a robust freshwater management strategy deploying aa wide range of approaches to reduce water use and preserve water quality, including onsite recycling and water reuse, sourcing treated wastewater for use as process water, employing processes to decrease water needs and appropriately treating wastewater prior to its discharge.
In Nigeria and Germany, rain is harvested for use in preparing drilling fluids. During heavy rain days, up to 500 barrels can be collected, and in most cases, the rainwater accumulated exceeds the water amount needed at the rig site.
Other companies such as British American Tobacco has supported environmentally- friendly practices especially in energy and water usage, and insists that good environmental practices is the way to go since the continues supply and raw material, as well as access to markets depend on it.
BAT, which operates a large factory in Ibadan, believes that the effect of climate change may be felt more strongly in coming years hence efforts are in top gear to effectively address both the immediate environmental impacts and the likely environmental pressures on the business in the future. This involves risk assessments, performance management and making its operations more efficient.
Currently, it has seen 41 per cent reductions in carbon dioxide emissions since 2000; and 13 per cent cut in energy and 22 per cent drop in water usage since 2007 while the Group Environment, Occupational Health and Safety expenditure stood at £40.4 m in 2012.
In the public space the Federal Government has been in the forefront of tackling the major issues including desertification and deforestation, pollution and waste management, flood and erosion and enforcement of environmental laws and standards with limited success.
The general attitude seems to be that environmental issues should be left for government and institutions to deal with at seminars as the average Nigerian appears not fully aware or is indifferent to environmental issues unless directly impacted negatively.
It is clear that more resources need to be deployed in addressing environmental issues through increases sensitisation especially of young persons.
National Mirror looks at some of the issues in the following pages.
National Mirror