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Environmental Performance

The U.S. oil and natural gas industry reliably provides the energy our nation needs each day to heat our homes, fuel our cars, bring food and goods to market, and cook our meals. This is thanks to the hard work and dedication of the 9.8 million men and women that support the oil and natural gas industry. But these innovative workers have also developed creative ways to provide this energy in ways that protect the earth we all share. This is because, like you, we all want to enjoy the quality lifestyle reliable energy provides along with a clean, safe and healthy environment. We also understand that the environment we share – the air we all breathe, the water we all drink and the land we all enjoy – is another important element of our quality of life. And through rigorous controls and technological innovations, we are taking better and better care of the natural environment.

Through the complex process of finding, developing, transporting, refining, and providing you with the oil and natural gas products we all need each day, we have developed creative ways to do so in a manner that respects the earth. In fact, the U.S. oil and natural gas industry has invested about $284 billion dollars since 1990 to improve our environmental performance. Like you, we want a clean and healthy environment for ourselves, our neighbors and our families.

But we are not resting on our past achievements. We continue to work each day to improve our record so that we can all enjoy the benefits that oil and natural gas bring to our lives, while doing so in a manner that protects our earth. We have developed a list of environmental principles to guide our workers in this quest for improvement.

Given the importance of oil and natural gas in society, the oil and natural gas industry recognizes that sustainability reporting is crucial to help people understand the impacts, benefits, risks and tradeoffs of the production and use of oil and natural gas products. These reports document the progress that individual companies have made toward a sustainable future.

To help oil and natural gas companies report their sustainability performance, API, IPIECA and the International Association of Oil and Gas Producers (OGP) have developed the “Oil and Gas Industry Guidance on Voluntary Sustainability Reporting.” This document helps companies report their sustainability performance in a clear and consistent manner.

The oil and natural gas industry was among the first businesses to pioneer sustainability reporting. These individual company reports provide detailed information in three areas: environmental performance, health and safety performance, and social and economic performance. Companies generally post their individual sustainability reports on their company websites for the public to view.

Corporate Reporting

The oil and natural gas industry's record of performance provides detailed information in three areas: environmental performance, health and safety performance, and social and economic performance.

Environmental Stewardship

The members of API are dedicated to continuous efforts to improve the compatibility of their operations with the environment while economically developing energy resources and supplying high quality products and services to consumers.

Recommended Lighting Practices

A Collaborative Effort by the Permian Basin Petroleum Association, the Texas Oil and Gas Association, the American Petroleum Institute, University Lands and the McDonald Observatory.

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