Governance

Achieving a Just Transition enables all communities and parts of society to benefit from a net zero economy and leaves no groups or individuals behind or worse off in the process.

A Just Transition is also central to Capricorn Energy’s overall sustainability commitment. It is implicit that we prepare the skills of our local workforces and communities for these future challenges and opportunities.

A central dynamic for Capricorn as part of managing a Just Transition to net zero is recognising its role in supporting Egypt as a developing economy. Egypt is a net importer of oil and gas, and with 100% of Capricorn’s product used within the domestic market, Capricorn will continue to provide a high-quality product to Egypt whilst implementing increasingly efficient production initiatives.

It is a guiding principle at Capricorn Energy that we only do business with suppliers who share our values.

Specifically, this means two things. They must be able to demonstrate to us that they act within the letter and spirit of all applicable laws, and we also expect that the work they perform for us, and any goods they use or supply, is executed or sourced in a sustainable way.

We have introduced an OMS model that focuses on sustainability issues throughout all phases of an asset life cycle, looking at the resource reuse and recycling, rehabilitation, health and safety and social impacts associated with that particular asset.

Although we tend to exit an asset before the decommissioning stage begins, we have a management plan to ensure best practices are followed to enable the sustainable decommissioning of an asset to happen in the future.

Capricorn requires the highest standard of ethics, strong reporting transparency and compliance with all appropriate regulations to maintain our licence to operate and this builds trust for our employees, partners, host countries and wider stakeholders. The culture of the Company is about working responsibly and the Board, ExCo and Management Teams are accountable for ensuring this happens through transparent reporting, making additional disclosures, reporting tax and payments to Governments and by engaging transparently with all our stakeholders.

We have a zero tolerance position on bribery, fraud and corruption. We have developed mitigation measures and undertake anti-bribery and corruption assessments whenever we enter a new territory or seek new business partners, and maintain due diligence in all of our operating locations even when our presence is established. Our business partners, service providers and staff are expected to act with honesty and integrity, while all of our employees are trained in anti-bribery and corruption policies and procedures. 

We take grievances and complaints of wrongdoing by employees or external stakeholders seriously and will take the most appropriate action in response. We provide clearly accessible and confidential channels through which reports can be made and our grievance mechanisms are provided in many languages. All employees, contractors and suppliers are required to sign and adhere to the terms of our Code of Ethics, with audits for the latter two to ensure its constant application.

We have a CMAPP protocol and other arrangements in place to ensure we assess and address any potential risks to our people, operations, assets and surrounding communities. A detailed review of this procedure took place in 2022 to meet the needs of major accident prevention competency and a linked training manual is available on our learning portal. In Egypt, an Emergency Response Plan has been put into place with appropriate training and simulations given to staff.

We recognise the threat of data and cyber security breaches to an oil and gas company and have put measures in place to protect our corporate infrastructure and data storage. These arrangements are regularly assessed against current or potential threats and regular communications highlight the potential dangers to our employees. We act in compliance with GDPR requirements with mandatory training given to staff to maintain GDPR compliance and internal risk governance.

As we develop our assets, we need to find ways to use cleantech to increase our operational efficiency in order to minimise our emissions. Our major focus is currently on decarbonising our Egyptian operations, implementing a number of initiatives such as replacing diesel generators, electrifying well sites and integrating solar power options where possible in order to reduce our GHG emissions. We support that focus by looking at carbon capture, utilisation and storage opportunities. 

To demonstrate the importance of sustainability to the company ethos, sustainability and other ESG matters link to senior management remuneration and incentivisation packages. The Company’s performance in areas such as D&I implementation, the positive impact of social investment, the progress and emission reductions of our net zero pathway and the communication of our environmental strategies across the Group are all used to determine Executive Director bonus opportunities.