20th World Petroleum Congress Socially Responsible Event Policy

Statement of Commitment

In December 2011 Doha will become the first city in the Middle East to host the World Petroleum Congress (WPC).

The State of Qatar understands that holding of the 20th WPC can have both positive and negative social and environmental impacts. Our aim is to promote the positive impacts of the 20th WPC while working to mitigate and/or minimize potential challenges. To this end, the 20th WPC Organizers will consider social, ethical, environmental and economic factors in decisions pertaining to the organization of the event.

Scope of commitment

Our commitment to staging a socially responsible event will be extended across the full event life cycle, from planning and implementation to final evaluation and review. The aim of the 20th WPC Organizing Committee is to make social responsibility a key consideration in decisions directly under our control. Where aspects of the event are delivered externally by suppliers or external producers, the Committee will endeavour to use their influence to increase the importance of social responsibility in the delivery of those goods or services.

Objectives of a Socially Responsible Congress

At the conclusion of the 20th WPC, the Organizing Committee aims to have achieved the following outcomes:

• Increased public awareness of the environmental and social issues concerning the petroleum industry;
• Increased public awareness of the petroleum industry’s strong commitment to managing environmental and social issues (within its sphere of influence);
• Showcase Qatar’s cultural heritage and progress in key areas of human development;
• Set a new benchmark for sustainable and socially responsible events in Qatar.

How these objectives will be met

To achieve our social responsibility aspirations the Organizers of the 20th WPC commit to the following:

• Identifying and documenting social responsibility issues associated with the staging of the 20th WPC and report these in our Legacy Report to the World Petroleum Council;
• Developing strategies to minimize potentially adverse social and/or environmental impacts associated with staging the 20th WPC;
• Incorporating Qatari cultural activities within the 20th WPC programme of events;
• Identifying and engaging our stakeholders on social responsibility issues;
• Ensuring that the programme at the 20th WPC allocates sufficient time to the discussion of social responsibility issues;
• Allocating necessary resources to social responsibility issues to ensure that, as far as reasonably practicable, the 20th WPC is run in a sustainable manner;
• Acting in an ethical and transparent manner in accordance with all applicable laws and regulations of the State of Qatar.