• Industry making good progress on Environmental, Social and Governance reporting
  • Study recommends wider use of standardised templates to drive consistency and clarity
  • NSTA focused on creating value for industry and investor/lender community

The oil and gas sector can mitigate barriers to investment by acting on recommendations in a new report on environmental, social and governance (ESG) disclosure.

The inaugural ESG Disclosure report by the North Sea Transition Authority (NSTA) says ongoing access to finance depends on companies’ ability to demonstrate strong ESG credentials. It also reinforces the importance of robust and authoritative disclosure.

The report, which looked at a sample of 31 UK licensees, found that the sector has improved its ESG reporting in recent years, with the majority of companies now providing information on most aspects of the recommendations set out by the NSTA’s ESG Taskforce in March 2021.

New regulatory requirements and an increase in the use of external experts to verify data have also improved disclosures across all elements of ESG.   

Nevertheless, the NSTA continues to promote the need for further standardised disclosures that clearly show progress to meet net zero commitments.

The “best in class” in the industry each pull their ESG data together and publish it in an easy to find, central location. This helps avoid situations where data is scattered across several reports and provides more consistency and comparability year-on-year.

Joanne Edgeler, Head of Licensee Governance and ESG, said:

“In ESG, the NSTA is focused on creating value for industry and the investment community by highlighting the importance of robust, consistent and transparent disclosure.   

“I’m encouraged by the good progress made by many businesses on ESG reporting.  However, the sector must keep improving the quality of its reports to address external pressures, in particular its social licence to operate. The NSTA is committed to working with the sector and the investment community to drive continuous improvements in the reporting of related ESG matters."

For further information please contact: 

 

Tel: 07776 548196

Email: pressoffice@nstauthority.co.uk