Corporate Responsibility
In building the oil and gas operator of choice offshore Ghana, corporate responsibility is at the core of who we are and what we do.
Being a responsible company is a motivation which guides our activities in a multitude of ways, ranging from our ambitions on local content, to our approach to managing people, and our zero tolerance for corruption.
Social Investments
At Aker Energy we believe the best way to ensure our social investments produce lasting positive change over time is to focus them on clearly defined priority areas. For the current period, Aker Energy has identified four such focus areas.
Focus Areas:
Investments in education have positive ripple effects throughout society. Education is not only invaluable to the individual who is given the opportunity to gain an education, but it has further positive effects for the individual’s family and local community. On a societal level, education is key to ensuring economic growth, and in the case of Ghana it will be essential to unlock further access to the oil and gas sector for Ghanaian individuals and companies. Aker Energy is currently focusing on increasing access to secondary level education, through our Aker Energy-GNPC Scholars Programme. So far, 794 students have benefited from the programme.
Read more about our commitment to increasing access to quality education here
Local content regulations in Ghana encourage companies to invest in building the capacity of Ghanaian individuals and companies, to ensure an increase in Ghanaian ownership in the sector over time. Aker Energy supports this agenda, and we have committed ourselves to several industry and community initiatives that go beyond local content requirements. Our goal is to contribute to raising the capacity of the oil and gas sector in Ghana, in the long-term aiming to see the country become an international exporter of oil and gas services and expertise.
Aker Energy regularly organizes supplier conferences to provide a thorough introduction to the company’s requirements, for example on HSE, with the aim of preparing them for upcoming tender rounds.
Our commitment in this area is especially visible in our commitment to the Government of Ghana’s Accelerated Oil and Gas Capacity (AOGC) programme, which seeks to develop and improve local expertise in the oil and gas industry.
As an actor in an offshore industry, we are deeply aware of humanity’s dependence on the world oceans for sustenance, a healthy environment, and, last but not least, resources.
Taking learnings from Norway, where the fishing- and oil and gas sectors have found a way of operating and flourishing side by side, we are especially motivated to continue working with fishing communities and other key stakeholders to improve our shared management of the ocean and its resources.
Read more about the Plastic REVolution Foundation's work to tackle plastic pollution here
Community investments in the coastal districts of the Western Region in Ghana are an important part of our social investments. In the course of 2019, a comprehensive needs assessment will be undertaken to examine what the communities identify as their most pressing needs.
The results will give us a better sense of which areas matter the most to our stakeholders, whether that be for example health, education, access to clean water, or infrastructure. We look forward to entering a productive dialogue with our stakeholders to further shape this area of social investments moving forward.
Reporting
We will report annually on our sustainability agenda, providing information on how we integrate corporate responsibility into the way we operate, and how we seek to be a constructive partner in developing the Ghanaian oil and gas sector and in reaching the Sustainable Development Goals.
Stakeholder Engagement
Our stakeholders are integral to our business, and we highly value our relationships with them. As an exploration and production company operating in Ghana, we have a range of key stakeholder groups, from fishermen off the coast of Ghana to media organisations to the general public and civil society.
Aker Energy regularly engages with these different groups, through town hall-style meetings, individual meetings or written, two-way sharing of information. We are grateful for the experiences and improvement suggestions shared at these engagements, and will continue to be open, transparent and responsive to our stakeholders.