Environment

Material Topic: Environment

Protecting natural resources and ecosystems, especially through the prevention of spills and water, air, and soil pollution.

Key GRIs

• GRI 303: Water and Effluents 2018
• GRI 305: Emissions 2016
• GRI 306: Waste 2020
• GRI 306: Effluents and Waste 2016
• GRI 307: Environmental Compliance 2016

NaDiVeG

• Environmental concerns

Most relevant SDGs

OMV aims to minimize environmental impacts through measures such as preventing water and soil pollution. OMV is liable for the impact that our activities have on the environment. Breaching environmental regulations on a local, national, and international level would result in both financial losses and harm to our reputation. Our license to operate depends on compliance with regulations relating to environmental protection, which is also of particular importance to governmental authorities, shareholders, and stakeholders such as the public and environmental NGOs and NPOs. OMV’s Code of Conduct and HSSE Policy formalize our public commitments to safeguarding the environment.

Targets 2025 and 2030

• Increase waste reuse and recycling from operations
• Reduce freshwater withdrawal

Target 2030

• Reduce use of natural resources by reducing oil and gas production levels to around 350 kboe/d and by reducing crude distillation throughput by 2.6 mn t

Status 2022

• Waste recovery or recycling rate: 63%
• Freshwater withdrawal: 279,983 megaliters
• Production: 392 kboe/d
• Crude throughput: 13.0 mn t¹ In 2022, the utilization rate of the European refineries saw significant negative impacts from the turnaround and the incident at the Schwechat refinery, as well as the turnaround at the Burghausen refinery, which also resulted in a substantially lower crude oil throughput.

Most relevant SDGs

SDG targets:
3.9 By 2030, substantially reduce the number of deaths and illnesses from hazardous chemicals and air, water, and soil pollution and contamination
6.3 By 2030, improve water quality by reducing pollution, eliminating dumping, minimizing the release of hazardous chemicals and mate­rials, halving the proportion of untreated wastewater, and substantially increasing recycling and safe reuse globally
6.4 By 2030, substantially increase the efficient use of water across all sectors and ensure sustainable withdrawals and supply of freshwater to address water scarcity, and substantially reduce the number of people suffering from water scarcity
6.6 By 2020, protect and restore water-related ecosystems, including mountains, forests, wetlands, rivers, aquifers, and lakes
12.4 By 2020, achieve the environmentally sound management of chemicals and all waste throughout their life cycle, in accordance with agreed international frameworks, and significantly reduce their release to air, water, and soil in order to minimize their adverse impacts on human health and the environment
12.5 By 2030, substantially reduce waste generation through prevention, reduction, recycling, and reuse
15.5 Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats, halt the loss of biodiversity, and, by 2020, protect and prevent the extinction of threatened species² Several UN SDG subtargets were initially designated to be reached by 2020. However, sources such as the UN’s Global Biodiversity Outlook state that goals related to nature have not been met. OMV still considers the attainment of these goals relevant past the year 2020, and thus still links these SDG subtargets to its strategic targets.

Our internal Environmental Management (EM) Standard stipulates an assessment of environmental impacts and risks, and adherence to environmental performance requirements in terms of energy use, emissions into the atmosphere, water use and discharge, the use of raw materials, waste management, hazardous substance handling, and biodiversity and ecosystem protection. In 2020, the EM Standard was revised and minimum requirements on odor emissions were established. In 2021, the EM Standard was revised again, following which minimum requirements on H₂S in vented gas and the design of the environmental processes to complement the implementation of the EM Standard were added. The review in 2022 resulted in the addition of two new annexes on a Water Management Plan Framework and Water Management Plan Template.

Before undertaking new operational activities or entering new countries, environmental risk assessments are performed, including evaluations of local legislation, the potential impact of our activities on sensitive and protected areas, and the effects on endangered species. Each subsequent phase of project implementation is accompanied by a detailed assessment of environmental risks.

The framework and methodology for our coordinated Group-wide Environmental Risk Assessment are based on best practice standards, which meet the ISO 14001 requirements and ensure the consistent qualitative assessment of operational risks and impacts related to the environment.

The OMV Group’s Environmental Management Standard furthermore defines the process of carrying out Environmental and Social Impact Assessments (ESIAs), mainly for projects. Preventive and mitigation measures and the monitoring program to ensure implementation of the proposed measures are documented in an Environmental and Social Management Plan. The final ESIA report is submitted to the local regulator or lender (whichever is applicable) for review, public disclosure, and approval.

The OMV Group’s Environmental Management Standard requires that all relevant OMV businesses and activities (including investment, acquisitions, and divestment) implement an Environmental Management System (EMS) consistent with ISO 14001 and adhering to the minimum requirements listed. All relevant OMV businesses are required to review and update the EMS at least once per year, while a full EMS audit must be carried out either by an external independent auditor or OMV corporate environmental experts every three years for sites not certified to ISO 14001. Internal EMS audits are performed regularly and as necessary at local level to identify improvement measures.

Governance

There is a high degree of interdependence between the Environment material topic and the material topics Health, Safety, and Well-Being, and Security, Emergency, and Crisis Resilience. Thus, these distinct material topics are governed centrally by Group HSSE. The OMV Group HSSE department is organized into specialized teams with expe­rienced experts in areas such as:

• Development and implementation of OMV’s HSSE strategy, regulations, and processes
• HSSE risk assessment
• Incident investigation
• HSSE data analysis and reporting
• Environmental management
• Process safety management
• Security and resilience management

Group HSSE is led by the VP HSSE, who reports directly to the Chief Executive Officer. There are HSSE departments at OMV Petrom and Borealis, which oversee their specific issues and coordinate their local HSSE officers and experts. The OMV Petrom and Borealis HSSE departments report functionally to the VP HSSE at Group level.

Environmental awareness is promoted across the Group through various activities. For instance, regular exchanges on Environmental Management are held, where environmental experts and interested colleagues Group-wide can learn about the best practices being implemented at other sites and gain inspiration. At OMV Petrom, a contest to highlight key initiatives in the company was again held in 2022, with winners receiving awards from the OMV Petrom Executive Board.