Chevron Nigeria has expressed its dedicated commitment towards implementing business practices that support effective waste management activities and reduce the potential environmental, health, and safety impacts associated with plastic waste.
This is coming as the company joins the international community in the celebration of this year’s World Environment Day (WED). The celebration is dedicated to raising awareness and promoting actions to address various environmental issues, including marine pollution, overpopulation, global warming, sustainable development, and wildlife crime, among others.
This year’s theme, ‘Beat Plastic Pollution,’ highlights the urgent need to tackle plastic pollution, a significant environmental challenge of our time. Plastic pollution refers to the accumulation of plastic items and particles, such as plastic bottles, bags, and microplastics, in the environment, particularly in oceans, rivers, and landfills.
The widespread use of single-use plastics, inadequate waste management systems, and the persistent nature of plastic materials contribute to this global issue. Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL), the operator of the joint venture between the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited and CNL said, it supports this global initiative as it aligns with our commitment to protecting the environment while providing affordable, reliable, and ever-cleaner energy that enables human progress.
CNL’s chairman and managing director (CMD), Jim Swartz explained that, this year’s theme is consistent with the company’s values and environmental principles, which are anchored on considering the environment in decision-making, minimising environmental footprint, operating responsibly, and stewarding its sites.
According to Jim, “At Chevron, our commitment to environmental stewardship is reflected im the responsible design, development, operation, and retirement of assets. We strive to implement business practices that support effective waste management activities and reduce the potential environmental, health, and safety impacts associated with plastic waste.
“We continue to assess and implement the reduction of single-use plastic water bottles by providing water dispensers. We have also invested in waste management equipment to shred, crush, and compact waste for recycling and re-use by third-party service providers. These actions have prevented our used plastics from leaking into our immediate natural environment.”
Jim stated that CNL’s Operational Excellence Management System delivers industry-leading. performance in process safety, personal safety and health, environment, reliability, and efficiency. “Our focus on the environment during decision-making lays the foundation for sound environmental management. The company protects the environment through the entire lifecycle from responsible design, development, operations, and asset retirement,” he stated.
CNL’s CMD noted that, CNL is advancing its lower carbon strategy by focusing on lowering the carbon intensity of its operations and by implementing methane detection and reduction capabilities.
“CNL utilizes high-tech Optical Gas Imaging (OGI) cameras for detecting fugitive emissions, and in the past 10 years, CNL has reduced routine gas flaring by over 97% in its operations,” he highlighted.
CNL’s general manager, Policy, Government and Public Affairs, Olusoga Oduselu, emphasised the importance of protecting and conserving biodiversity. “We have a long history of working in collaboration with communities, industry groups, regulators, and conservation groups to identify and protect biodiversity in parts of the world where we operate.
