Equitable Origin Pioneers New Frontier in Sustainability
Launches First Stakeholder-Negotiated Standard for Oil & Gas Industry
NEW YORK, Oct. 24, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The first stakeholder-based certification system for the oil and gas industry has been launched by Equitable Origin (www.equitableorigin.com), to promote higher environmental and social standards, greater transparency and more accountability within the industry.
"Whether you think oil is society's lifeblood or should be immediately replaced with more sustainable energy sources, we'll have to use oil & gas for decades to come. We need a market-based mechanism to incentivize and reward best practices in the industry and Equitable Origin is the first to meet this need," said David Poritz, Equitable Origin Founder, President & CEO.
Over the past two years, Poritz and a Latin American-based team, have worked to develop the first stakeholder-negotiated standard for the oil and gas industry, the EO100 Standard, the basis for EO Certification, in an unprecedented collaboration with oil and gas producers; social and environmental focused NGOs, indigenous communities, academics and national governments.
An umbrella system for the best industry recommendations and guidelines, EO Certification covers the life cycle of an oil and gas operation from transparency in contract negotiation to environmentally and socially sound remediation and closure. The process quantifies and independently verifies an oil and gas company's environmental, social and sustainability performance.
Following the certification trends in other industries, such as forestry, fishery and agriculture, Equitable Origin is creating a new marketplace for responsibly produced oil, gas, and petroleum-based products akin to FairTrade Certified coffee and FSC Certified paper products. "For the first time, users of petroleum-both businesses and consumers, will be able to buy from companies that responsibly produce and source oil and gas," explained Christian Seale, the company's Chief Operating Officer.
"Equitable Origin provides a win-win for all," said Poritz. "Through our seal of approval consumers, businesses, shareholders and other stakeholders can be assured that energy companies have made an unwavering commitment to protect biodiversity, respect workers' and human rights, and preserve indigenous cultures and local communities."
About Equitable Origin
EQUITABLE ORIGIN (EO) (www.equitableorigin.com) is an innovative stakeholder-based certification system for the oil and gas industry that promotes higher social and environmental standards, greater transparency, and more accountability in oil and gas exploration and production.
SOURCE Equitable Origin
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