Natural Resources Management

We are committed to minimizing the environmental impact of our operations. Our key focus areas are water use, environmental degradation caused by oil spills, biodiversity, waste, and the circular economy.
To manage these topics, we use a unified strategy that is governed by both general and issue-specific regulations. This ensures a consistent approach and enables accurate reporting to our leadership team.
Environmental compliance
We are responsible for the impact our activities have on the environment. Breaching environmental regulations, whether at a national and international level, can lead to both financial penalties and reputational damage. In addition, compliance with environmental protection regulations is necessary to retain our license to operate.
Our Environmental Management Standard requires:
- Strict compliance with all relevant environmental laws and regulations
- Identification of all environmental requirements
- The development and maintenance of comprehensive legal compliance databases
- Ensuring our practices align with globally recognized best practices
- Establishing programs to prevent non-compliance and associated monetary losses
- The assessment of environmental impacts and risks
- Adherence to environmental performance standards related to energy, emissions, water, raw materials, waste, hazardous substances, and the protection of biodiversity and ecosystems
Further information can be found in the OMV Sustainability Report.
Environmental Risk
Our approach to environmental risks covers those that are regulatory, operational, reputational, and financial in nature. The majority are linked to climate change, water, or energy. We manage these risks using our Enterprise-Wide Risk Management (EWRM) framework.
We use digital tools including the Active Risk Manager System (ARMS) to monitor and manage environmental risks. This system helps us to integrate environmental risk scenarios within our broader approach to HSSE and wider business risks. Through clearly established policies and responsibilities, risks at all levels are controlled and mitigated.
We take a structured approach to risk evaluation. Strategic issues, such as those related to climate change and water scarcity, are assessed using a top-down process, while a bottom-up process is used to assess issues that arise at an operational level, including legal compliance risks.
Before beginning new projects or entering new countries, we conduct thorough environmental risk assessments to consider local legislation, as well as potential impacts on sensitive and protected areas and species. These assessments continue throughout the project lifecycle.
More information
Our environmental topics in detail
Biodiversity
We’re committed to preserving and restoring biodiversity and ecosystems in alignment with the United Nation’s Environment Programme’s Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) and the EU’s biodiversity strategy.
Our Group-wide nature and biodiversity framework uses the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures’ “Locate, Evaluate, Assess, and Prepare” approach to identify priority sites, evaluate impacts and dependencies, assess risks and opportunities, and prepare to address and report on nature-related issues.
Water Management
Effective water management helps reduce both costs and risks. Our main goals are to reduce water consumption, to make efficient use of our water resources, and ensure appropriate wastewater treatment.
Both our upstream and downstream operations have an impact on water resources. Freshwater is used for drilling, steam generation, and cooling, as well as other industrial processes, and we also use a small amount of water for non-industrial purposes. We recycle some of the water we use, reinjecting it to pressurize hydrocarbon reservoirs in order to optimize the extraction rate.
Some of our offshore operations use desalinated water. Additionally, our refineries and other facilities use brackish or recycled water for various operational purposes.
Water Strategy
We respect water as a precious and limited resource and ensure sustainable use that meets the strictest standards. We work closely with local communities to be responsible partners and are committed to transparency in all our activities. Every employee is responsible for minimizing the impact of our activities on water resources.
As part of our ongoing efforts, we plan to establish quantitative targets to improve water management, aiming for all operated sites to finalize and implement their Water Management Plans in the coming years.
Managing Oil Spills
In our industry, oil spills are a critical environmental issue. Our approach to spills management covers the prevention of spills, both in operational settings and as a result of sabotage or natural hazards, and response strategies for incidents.
Oil Spill Prevention
Our prevention and control measures include hazard identification, risk management, regular maintenance to prevent leaks, and the establishment of comprehensive emergency response and contingency plans. This includes ensuring ready access to materials and equipment necessary for spill response and implementing thorough cleanup and remediation procedures.
Oil Spill Remediation
When spills occur, we act swiftly to assess and clean up following our internal remediation procedures. Leaks are repaired immediately or within defined timeframes according to the site’s maintenance processes and informed by risk assessments and operational considerations.
Improving our response in the event of an oil spill to reduce environmental harm is a key priority. We therefore regularly perform emergency drills, including simulations of pollution events.
Waste Management
Our activities generate various types of waste, both solid and liquid. This includes hazardous waste, such as oily sludge, waste chemicals, catalysts, and construction debris, and non-hazardous waste, including excavated soil, mixed municipal waste, paper, and metal.
We follow international industry best practices for managing and treating waste, including drilling waste. Where existing local, regional, or national waste management facilities are inadequate, we support third parties to develop their capabilities. We recover and recycle waste whenever possible, including during site closure and decommissioning. When recycling isn’t possible, we ensure all waste is processed or disposed of at licensed facilities or through reputable licensed contractors, who are regularly audited.
Circular Economy
As a plastics producer, we recognize the significant problem of plastic waste. Unmanaged plastic waste often ends up in landfills or is burned, causing environmental harm, endangering marine life, and posing potential health risks to humans.
Given the pressing nature of this issue, we have made supporting the transition to a circular economy one of the cornerstones of our Strategy 2030. Unlike the linear “take-make-waste” model, a circular economy is designed to be regenerative, keeping materials, resources, and products in circulation, minimizing their environmental impact.
Our focus is on recycling plastic waste and reusing it to create new materials and products. This is complemented by a shift to making plastics from renewable feedstocks, such as waste biomass that does not compete with food production, which reduces demand for fossil feedstocks and results in a lower carbon footprint.