Corporate Social Responsibility
Letter from the Chief Executive
Since its foundation, Afren’s vision has been to become the premier pan-African independent oil and gas exploration and production company. We believe this vision is only viable with an unshakeable commitment to responsible business practices. This is why we have a strong African representation on our Board and management. It is why we partner with indigenous companies, national oil companies and governments. Acting responsibly is at the very heart of our corporate strategy.
A genuine commitment to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) goes much deeper than simply satisfying legislation. It means embedding values and ethical behaviour throughout our organisation and leading from the front – setting an example through the conduct of our Board of Directors. It also means adopting the highest standards and encouraging and supporting employees to follow them.
While we are engaged in a continuous improvement process, we are proud of what we have already achieved. Despite working in often challenging operating environments, our management of environmental, health, safety and social (EHSS) business aspects has improved year on year.
A matter of respect
We recognise the potential impact of our business on the environments and the societies in which we operate. And we also know we have a deep responsibility to a wide range of stakeholders – from local communities to investors, employees to business partners, as well as regulators and governments. This not only drives us to maintain the most rigorous health and safety procedures, but also to protect the communities and environments in which we work, aiming to carry out our work with minimum impact.
Our workforce is made up of people from many different cultural backgrounds. It is their combined skill, knowledge and commitment that make us a successful business. This is something we never take for granted, acknowledging fully that excellence is achieved through recognising the value of every individual member of staff. We have particular pride in our reputation which is built on the commitment and talents of our employees and we place great importance on recruiting and developing a diverse, highly skilled, enthusiastic and passionate team. We believe strongly in the importance of building and developing our indigenous capability in the African countries in which we operate and we encourage training and development assignments to ensure this development.
We treat everyone without discrimination and are an equal opportunities employer. We provide competitive terms and conditions of employment in a safe and healthy working environment.
But our commitment goes beyond our employees and extends out to the communities in which we operate. In Nigeria, Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana, for example, we continue to lend our support to local communities, establishing programmes that tackle some of their biggest challenges including education, health and employment.
Committed to better working
Our genuine commitment to CSR means we continually monitor and review our policies, procedures and activities. We measure our progress year on year and report in the most open and transparent way to our stakeholders. In 2009 we carried out independent audits of our operations in Nigeria and Côte d’Ivoire and used the findings to form the basis of our plans for improving performance in 2010.
When compiling this year’s Annual Report we reviewed our performance against the UN Global Compact framework which we will use in future years as a guide to benchmarking and improving our CSR performance.
Osman Shahenshah
Chief Executive
