Our Policy

INPEX’s basic approach to sustainability management is to promote both a stable supply of energy and energy transition initiatives, and address climate change and other sustainability issues through our business and value chains. Our sustainability management activities focus on the issues of greatest importance to our business and our stakeholders—our Material Issues.

Sustainability Governance Structure

Chaired by the INPEX Representative Director, President & CEO, our Sustainability Committee was established to clearly communicate our executive management’s vision for sustainability, discuss basic policies for sustainability, and promote Group-wide and systematic sustainability practices. The members include Representative Directors, the head of the General Administration Division, and the head of the Corporate Strategy & Planning Division (Vice-chair of the Sustainability Committee). The Chairs of our Compliance Committee and Corporate HSE Committee also attend the meetings to facilitate collaboration with their respective committees. The Sustainability Committee met twice in FY2022, and the matters addressed at those meetings were also discussed at Executive Committee and Board of Director meetings.

Under the Sustainability Committee, we have established a Sustainability Working Group and Climate Change Strategy Working Group, which each comprise operational-level members from various divisions to support Group-wide, cross-sectional consultation.

Sustainability Governance System

United Nations Global Compact

We have been a signatory to the United Nations Global Compact since 2011 and declared our support for its Ten Principles in the four areas of human rights, labor, the environment, and anti-corruption. Since 2012, we have been participating in activities of the various sustainability-related subcommittees set up by the Global Compact Network Japan.

10 Principles of the UN Global Compact

Human Rights

• Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human rights; and
• make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labor Standards

• Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right to collective bargaining;
• the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labor;
• the effective abolition of child labor; and
• the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Environment

• Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;
• undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and
• encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Anti-Corruption

• Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Further information can be found at the United Nations Global Compact website.

Engaging with Industry Associations

To support our business and sustainability objectives, INPEX is an active member of the International Association of Oil & Gas Producers (IOGP), Australian Petroleum Production & Exploration Association (APPEA), and Ipieca.

Through our membership and participation in these initiatives, we aim to continuously improve our business practices and governance, as well as our safety, environmental, economic and social performance.

Aligned with our own Corporate Position on Climate Change, each of these organizations is positioned to support energy transition consistent with the objectives of the Paris Agreement.

Within Japan, we are members of the Japan Petroleum Development Association, Japan Natural Gas Association and Japan Gas Association to ensure the sound development of the industry and a stable energy supply.

Our industry association memberships additionally support our efforts to build sound and appropriate relationships with governments and administrative authorities by presenting a collective voice on key matters within the energy industry.

Other initiatives in which we participate include the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI)—which aims to increase transparency and improve natural resource management in oil, gas and mineral producing countries—, Challenge Zero (Challenge Net Zero Carbon Innovation)—an initiative led by the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren)—, New Energy Foundation and Japan Hydrogen Association that challenges groups and organizations in Japan and abroad to take concrete innovation actions to help achieve a decarbonized society.

Identification of Material Issues and Prioritization Process

We have identified six of the seven core sustainability themes in ISO 26000 as areas of high importance for INPEX and our stakeholders, and these form our Material Issues. Our materiality assessments are conducted on the basis of double materiality, whereby we identify and prioritize issues that may have a significant impact not only on our sustainability as a business, but also on external stakeholders or the environment.

The six of the sustainability themes

We have also identified priority actions (Key Tasks) for each Material Issue area and embedded these Key Tasks into our PDCA cycle to enable continuous improvement. In 2017, we reviewed and revised each Key Task through a four-step prioritization process (1. Issue identification and gap analysis; 2. Stakeholder dialogue; 3. Issue prioritization; and 4. Management review). This review also incorporated the perspective of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).¹

In March 2022, we reviewed our Key Tasks based on conversations with major stakeholders that had been conducted together with the announcement of our Long-term Strategy and Medium-term Business Plan (INPEX Vision @2022) the previous month.

Our Material Issues and Key Tasks are reviewed annually through engagement with internal and external stakeholders. The results are approved by the Sustainability Committee chaired by the Representative Director, President & CEO and reported to the Board of Directors.

¹ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): 17 goals and 169 targets adopted by the United Nations Sustainable Development Summit in September 2015 that represent common goals for ending poverty, protecting the planet, and ensuring that by 2030 all people enjoy peace and prosperity