CHRB ranks Eni tops in corporate human rights approach

• Company owns 10.4% stake in Nigeria LNG Train 7
• As militants hit Shell-Agip facility in Ikarama, Yenagoa

Milan headquartered Italian global oil giant, Eni has been ranked first, tied with another company, among 199 companies assessed by the Corporate Human Rights Benchmark (CHRB), which the company says is “a confirmation of (our) leadership in designing an effective approach to human rights.”

CHRB is an internationally recognised benchmark that assesses companies’ human rights performances. Every year, it compares the world’s largest companies in the extractive, agricultural products, apparel and ICT manufacturing sectors; taking into account their policies, governance structure and work processes to evaluate their approach to human rights, as well as their way to respond to allegations of human rights misconducts.

The work carried out over the past year has allowed Eni to further improve its performances. In particular, regarding the human rights due diligence and the monitoring and evaluation process adopted by Eni in order to assess the effectiveness of the actions taken to identify risks and face potential impacts on human rights, praising its view to constantly improve its approach, and the accessibility of this information.

“This result confirms our commitment to the respect for human rights, which is essential in our path to a just transition that brings access to energy for all, while protecting the environment and reducing the gaps among countries,” Claudio Descalzi, Eni’s chief executive officer, said in a statement at the oil company’s headquarters in Milan.

Eni, which commenced activities in Nigeria in 1962, through a wholly owned subsidiary– the Nigerian Agip Oil Company (NAOC) and has been active ever since in hydrocarbon exploration and production, as well as power production, and lately took a 10.4 percent stake in Nigeria’s LNG Train 7, said, it has taken important steps to spread and reinforce the culture of respect for human rights in all business activities, as part of a process that began at the end of 2016 with a dedicated workshop chaired by the CEO and addressed to its managers. Representatives of civil society, universities and IPIECA, the industry’s association for sustainability, took part in the workshop as speakers, during which Eni launched a multi-year action plan and an e-learning training programme, which so far has involved a significant portion of the employees.

In 2019, more than 19,000 employees were trained on human rights, capping a total of 25,845 hours, the company said.

In 2020, the company said it has also strengthened its internal procedures to shape a structured due diligence process, adopted a renewed Code of Ethics, and a supplier Code of Conduct, which outlines the minimum requirements with which all its suppliers are required to comply.

With regard to the management of human rights risks related to security activities, in May 2020 Eni was admitted as “engaged corporate participant” (ECP) to the voluntary principles initiative (VPI), the multi-stakeholder initiative composed of governments, key international NGOs and companies, which promotes the implementation of the voluntary principles on security and human rights. In June 2020, Eni also published for the second year “Eni for Human Rights,” the company’s report that provides transparent and concrete information on its commitment to the respect for human rights. The company said its commitment to human rights is in line with its new mission, which is inspired by the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Meanwhile, reports said on Monday that there was Nigerian militants’ interference on a pipeline operated by Shell and Agip about one kilometre from Ikarama, Yenagoa in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Mike Adande, spokesperson for Shell confirmed that they have shut-in the line; and have also informed the regulatory agencies and stakeholders about the incident.