ARC recognized for its responsible development leadership with second Equitable Origin certification
Responsible development has always been at the heart of how ARC does business. Since our inception, we’ve taken a comprehensive approach to sustainability and have strived to incorporate sustainability measures in every aspect of our business. In April 2022, ARC’s commitment to ESG was recognized with the achievement of our second certification under Equitable Origin’s EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development. Certification was awarded to ARC’s northeast British Columbia (BC) assets including Greater Dawson and Sunrise. Building on the prior certification achieved at our Kakwa asset, ARC now holds the largest production base certified under this global standard in Canada.
“Responsible development has long been a core focus for our company. Top-decile environmental and social performance, transparency, and Indigenous and stakeholder engagement will be imperative as the energy transition continues. Our certification validates our leadership in these areas and commitment to continuous improvement of our sustainability practices. On behalf of the people of ARC, I would like to thank all of our stakeholders, Indigenous partners and employees who played a key role in helping ARC achieve this significant achievement.”
ARC, through its Business Combination with Seven Generations Energy Ltd. (Seven Generations), was the first natural gas producer in the world to achieve certification under the EO100™ Standard with certification of its Kakwa asset in 2019. Following the certification of its northeast BC assets, approximately 95 per cent of ARC’s production has been certified under the standard – offering a differentiated commodity on the market.
“ARC’s commitment to responsible energy development and continuous improvement is outstanding and having them in our program is an honour. We would like to congratulate them on having achieved a second EO100™ certification to our rigorous standard,” said Soledad Mills, Chief Executive Officer, Equitable Origin.
ARC’s assets were certified under the EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development (2017) and the EO100™ Standard Addendum for Shale Oil and Gas Operations (2015), which were established by Equitable Origin – a non-profit organization with operations in Ecuador, the U.S., Mexico, Columbia and Canada. Equitable Origin created the world’s first stakeholder-based, independent, voluntary standards system to drive higher social and environmental performance, greater transparency and more accountability in energy development.
ARC achieved this status following a comprehensive and independent assurance process that included site-level assessments, and interviews with key stakeholders and Indigenous communities. The assessment verified our ESG performance against targets in five key areas: corporate governance and ethics; social impacts, human rights and community engagement; Indigenous Peoples’ rights; occupational health and safety and fair labour standards; and environmental impacts, biodiversity and climate change.
Equitable Origin (EO) is a non-profit organization incorporated in the U.S., governed by a multistakeholder board of directors. Equitable Origin’s mission is to partner with business, communities and government to support responsible development of energy and natural resources. Equitable Origin created the world´s first stakeholder-based, independent, voluntary standards system designed to drive higher social and environmental performance, greater transparency and more accountability in energy development. Equitable Origin works with a variety of stakeholders to foster dialogue, benchmark performance and promote best practices through the EO100™ Standard for Responsible Energy Development. Equitable Origin seeks to leverage market-based mechanisms to recognize and reward responsible energy producers and to empower energy purchasers to positively influence upstream impacts and to incentivize continuous improvement.
