Making oil firms more accountable

COURTESY EQUITABLE ORIGIN/
FRANCINE STRICKWERDA
DRILL INSTRUCTOR: David Poritz, president and CEO of Equitable Origin, on an oil rig in Ecuador. The company is pushing for oil companies to be more environmentally responsible.
COURTESY EQUITABLE ORIGIN/ FRANCINE STRICKWERDA DRILL INSTRUCTOR: David Poritz, president and CEO of Equitable Origin, on an oil rig in Ecuador. The company is pushing for oil companies to be more environmentally responsible.

David Poritz and Christian Seale hope their new venture will force oil and natural gas companies to become more environmentally responsible. The two have developed a certification system they hope will promote better accountability in oil and gas exploration and production. Consider it the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval for the oil industry.
Their voluntary verification program allows companies to show they are responsible and accountable. The accreditation requires companies to achieve compliance with six principles: corporate governance and accountability; human rights and social impact; fair labor; indigenous rights; climate change and environment; and project life-cycle management.
The pair credit Brown University for instilling in them an entrepreneurial spirit that’s responsible for creating the venture. Poritz is still at Brown, a 23-year-old senior, and Seale, 24, is a recent graduate. They are the co-owners of Equitable Origin, a company based out of New York City and Quito, Ecuador, where their story begins.
A lawsuit between Chevron and 30,000 indigenous people in Ecuador is one of the most notorious legal environmental battles currently being waged. Commenced in 2003, the residents’ lawsuit claimed that from 1972 to 1992, Chevron – then Texaco – discharged 18 billion gallons of water used in oil production into the Amazon River and watershed, causing significant environmental damage and health problems. Last year, the court ruled in favor of the residents, assessing penalties to Chevron totaling $9.5 billion. Chevron has since brought the case before an international panel of arbitrators at the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague, where it remains unresolved. Chevron has issued public statements disavowing responsibility and promising to continue the battle.
While growing up in Amherst, Mass., Poritz became aware of the suit through acquaintances who knew lawyers on the case. He eventually traveled to Ecuador, and witnessing the situation became active in environmental accountability.
“The oil industry is the largest in the world and is present in every environment in the world, but there is a lack of environmental standards and social responsibility,” Poritz said.
Petroleum and natural gas companies have inherited a perception of being environmentally unfriendly. With the help of stakeholders, Equitable Origin developed a rating system for social and environmental responsibility as established by their principles. Their “EO100 Standard” is designed to inform the public that the company is credible and responsible. The Chevron suit has strained relationships between Equator and oil companies wishing to do business in the country; neighboring nations have observed the developments and are also wary of the potential for environmental and sociological damage. Poritz and Seale therefore developed their standards to ensure companies act responsibly. Their business plan is to be hired by companies in order to bring them into compliance with those standards. Equitable Origin accomplishes this by providing seminars, classes and advisory inspections, to name a few of their services, to company officials and staff.
EO, however, does not conduct the actual inspection that certifies a company. That work is performed by a third-party organization.
Once certified, companies can place an Equitable Origin logo on their products, telling consumers they meet high environmental standards. In a world where consumers are becoming more environmentally conscious, the logo can become an effective marketing tool.
Poritz and Seale believe that the oil industry will recognize the importance of the certification, while at the same time, the public will realize the company has their best interests in mind. The logo would help smooth relationships between the oil industry and Latin American countries. In the future it would be the standard for environmental responsibility in the industry, or at least that’s what Poritz and Seale hope.
Seale says he is working with indigenous groups, governments and companies in Mexico, Ecuador, Colombia and Brazil in an attempt to gain some clients.
Equitable Origin is working with five clients in Ecuador and Colombia. They are in varying degrees of engagement. They did not want to identify them but said a few of them would be known in the U.S. and Canada. The others are regional operators.
Seale sees Equitable Origin increasing its presence in Latin America in the next year. Expansion into America and Canada is planned, but not in the immediate future.
Poritz, meanwhile, is finishing his last semester at Brown, looking forward to returning to Latin America and making their vision a reality. •

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