New Report Reveals Voluntary Efforts to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Highwood Emissions Management published a groundbreaking report that reveals the accelerating interest among oil and gas companies to go “above and beyond” when it comes to achieving greenhouse gas (GHG) reductions. 

From Highwood Emissions Management

Highwood works with organizations on greenhouse gas emissions management strategies, often using data and technology. “We look at the most cost effective as well as most greenhouse gas emissions reduction projects we can implement,” said Jessica Shumlich, CEO.  “We help them look at that from a strategic perspective, both from the executive leadership team, right down to the operators.”

The newly released report from Highwood analyzed 20 international certifications, commitments, guidelines, and ratings available to the oil and gas industry to demonstrate voluntary greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions. 

The report identifies the need to improve transparency and independent verification of reported emissions. It identifies important opportunities to increase the use of emerging technologies, including drones, aircraft, satellites, vehicle systems, and continuous sensors to improve measurements and disclosure.

“We're seeing a huge gap between oil and gas companies that are really pushing forward in the space, spending money, and achieving really impressive emissions reductions—and those who have yet to act,” said Thomas Fox, president of Highwood. “Companies that are at the forefront of the energy transition and reducing emissions want to be able to take credit for it.”

Currently, there are a huge number of voluntary initiatives that companies can sign up for, get certified through, get rated through. It’s hard for companies to know which are worth the effort and cost—and which aren’t. The new report tries to bring some structure and systematically evaluate what the opportunities are and what the risks are in some of these programs.

The report puts ESG programs into four distinct categories:

• Voluntary initiatives

• Certifications

• Commitments

• Guidelines

It also found a few trends about the programs and who participates. First, technology and independent verification aren’t being used in many of the evaluations. “It really became clear through our analysis that the role of measurement technologies is relatively poorly defined,” said Fox. 

Second, participation is related to how rigorous a program is. Fox said, “The less rigorous initiatives are slightly more common and they have higher participation rates.” There are more rigorous certification programs that can take months or years to jump through all the hoops, and a lot of companies just aren't ready for that. These two types of programs, according to Fox, “really provide different functions within the ecosystem.”

“These initiatives and frameworks are becoming more common and there's increasing public demand for this to happen,” said Shumlich. “We think it's important for the administrative organizations who develop and perform these initiatives to make sure that they communicate the value proposition.”

Fox added, “I would say that some of the things preventing a more rapid uptake right now are that the value proposition of participating in these initiatives is not exactly clear to those companies.”

For now, these programs aren’t the be-all-end-all of evaluating how companies are reducing GHG emission. Shumlich said, “The most successful companies that I've seen who work in this space are ones who look at this from a strategic level but they also have it embedded throughout the business.” Emissions reduction requires buy-in from the boardroom to the field and in between. 

Technology plays a big role in helping companies reduce and report on emissions. From drones and satellites identifying methane leaks to AI and digital twins being used to increase efficiency, technology is vital. But first, there are challenges to overcome. 

“One of the barriers is regulatory,” said Fox. “A lot of regulators mandate the use of handheld instruments and a very limited suite of measurement technologies. So it’s important to understand how we can better implement new technologies through regulatory frameworks.”

Fox continued, “The convergence of technology is the major unknown moving into the future. Over the last 10 years, we've seen insane amounts of innovation and progress, and how it's going to play out is anyone's guess. I imagine we're going to see a future in which many technologies are able to work together and do different things.”

On June 8, Highwood is partnering with the Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) and the Gas Technology Institute (GTI) on a mini conference where experts will discuss the report as well as other perspectives from industry.