Code of Conduct
Impacts on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services arise from various drivers including GHG emissions, land use change, water and resource use, pollutant releases, spills, the introduction of invasive species, and disturbances. These factors significantly alter natural habitats and their services, adversely affecting both the environment and local communities. In alignment with OMV’s Code of Conduct, which emphasizes ethical and responsible business practices, OMV is committed to addressing these impact drivers to minimize their negative consequences for biodiversity and ecosystems within our operations. Our Code of Conduct clearly stipulates our commitment to preserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems in alignment with the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the EU’s biodiversity strategy. We apply the mitigation hierarchy, with priority given to avoidance and minimization over restoration and offsetting. OMV cooperates with business partners to ensure that the impacts of our value chain do not compromise this commitment.
For the Code of Conduct, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), interests of key stakeholders in setting the policy (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in E1 Climate Change.
Environmental Management Standard
By providing clear guidelines, the Environmental Management (EM) Standard aims to manage the negative impact on biodiversity, ecosystems, and ecosystem services that may arise from various impact drivers, including GHG emissions and land use change. It mandates that all OMV activities should be carried out with minimal disturbance to protected areas and the local flora and fauna. Biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) screenings are mandated within the policy to identify potential threats to nationally or globally threatened species, fragile ecosystems, and legally protected or internationally recognized areas. In cases where significant biodiversity impacts are observed or predicted, a biodiversity action plan must be incorporated into the Environmental Management Plan. This plan should cover the social, regulatory, and ecosystem context, establish partnerships with external stakeholders, conduct biodiversity baseline surveys and impact assessments, and implement mitigation and conservation measures along with monitoring.
For the EM Standard, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), interests of key stakeholders in setting the policy (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in E1 Climate Change. Within OMV’s EM Standard, processes and mechanisms have been defined to prevent, mitigate, and remediate the potential negative impact that was identified. These include:
Biodiversity Site-Level Assessments
Biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES) screenings are mandated within the EM Standard. Our approach to performing these assessments is applying the Locate, Evaluate, and Assess steps of the TNFD LEAP assessment. In the last quarter of 2023, we initiated work on BES screenings with six pilot sites as part of the ongoing TNFD LEAP assessment.
Biodiversity Action Plans
OMV is a member of Ipieca’s Biodiversity Task Force, which has issued a guide on how to develop Biodiversity Action Plans (BAPs). In 2024, OMV developed a BAP template that is aligned with the Ipieca guide and also fulfills TNFD and CSRD requirements. As stipulated in OMV’s EM Standard, OMV aims to start developing BAPs for all operations and projects where significant impacts or risks are identified in 2025.
Mitigation Hierarchy
In the event of significant observed or predicted impacts, we apply the mitigation hierarchy, and action planning gives priority to avoidance and minimization over the restoration and offsetting of the impact. Examples of mitigation measures include the rerouting of pipelines or scheduling projects during seasons when the impact on breeding populations can be avoided. A good practice example in biodiversity management can be taken from the Berling development project in offshore Norway. The aim was to avoid any damage to sensitive cold-water coral. Building on available know-how and technology, biodiversity screening and baseline studies were executed as part of the environmental impact assessment. The mitigation hierarchy was applied by selecting a well location, template location, and pipeline routing as far away from any coral colonies as possible. The best available technologies were utilized to minimize any impact on the environment.
OMV also works with third parties on local nature restoration and rehabilitation projects. Through active collaboration with local communities, biodiversity-related projects in New Zealand have been implemented as part of our wider Stakeholder Engagement and Corporate Social Responsibility portfolio. Examples include a partnership with Ngāti Rāhiri hapū to regenerate the two Pohokura wetlands that neighbor the Pohokura Production Station and with the Ngāti Tara Sandy Bay Society for dune planting and restoration near the Māui Production Station.
Our EM Standard mandates the assessment of environmental impacts, risks, and dependencies, as well as adherence to environmental performance requirements concerning energy use, emissions into the atmosphere, water use and discharge, raw materials usage, waste management, hazardous substance handling, and biodiversity and ecosystem protection. However, as of 2024, the assessment of material impacts and dependencies on biodiversity and ecosystem services is not detailed in the EM Standard, as it follows a top-down process. The management of risks and opportunities (including systemic and transition risks) is governed by OMV’s Enterprise-Wide Risk Management process. At site level, the assessment of IROs is conducted through a bottom-up process as part of the TNFD LEAP approach. Environmental impact assessments (EIAs) describe and analyze observed or predicted direct and indirect impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services (BES). This level of detail is not currently included in the EM Standard. However, once the evaluation phase is complete, the integration of this information into our policies will be assessed.
OMV’s key products (e.g., oil, gas, refined products) and raw materials are not derived from ecosystem services. Consequently, their production and sourcing do not rely on ecosystems and there is no immediate need for traceability policies or for policies that demonstrate regular monitoring and reporting of biodiversity status and gains or losses. However, as some materials sourced from ecosystems may become increasingly important in our long-term strategy, we plan to expand or adapt our policies to ensure transparent traceability across the entire value chain and the regular monitoring and reporting of biodiversity status in the coming years. All renewable bio-based inputs are ISCC PLUS or ISCC EU certified, ensuring sustainability, traceability, and transparency. For details, see E5 Resource Use and Circular Economy.
We recognize that our potential impacts on biodiversity can also affect ecosystems’ ability to provide essential services, leading to possible social consequences. The degradation of biodiversity and ecosystems, driven by factors such as climate change, pollution of air, soil, and water, land use changes, and interactions with vulnerable or threatened species, as well as the potential for invasive alien species, requires our attention. Our EM Standard mandates that EIAs, which also cover impacts on biodiversity and ecosystems, are performed prior to initiating new operational activities. The current policies do not provide detailed guidelines on assessing social consequences resulting from biodiversity degradation. Once the LEAP assessment is completed and the magnitude of our impacts is better understood, we may consider including such guidelines in our policies.
Our EM Standard applies to our operational sites, including those situated in or near biodiversity-sensitive areas. OMV has not adopted any specific policies related to sustainable land or agricultural practices, sustainable ocean or sea practices, or deforestation, because during our most recent materiality assessment, no impacts, risks, or opportunities were identified.