The ISEAL Alliance has approved Equitable Origin’s application to progress from associate to full membership, the highest membership status in ISEAL, following a review of its standard-setting systems and monitoring and evaluation program.
Equitable Origin joined ISEAL in 2013 as an associate member and the first certification initiative in ISEAL to operate in the oil and gas sector. Equitable Origin is a stakeholder-based standard and certification system that aims to promote higher standards of social and environmental responsibility and greater transparency and accountability in oil and gas exploration and production.
As the global association for social and environmental standards, ISEAL works to strengthen the effectiveness and impact of both established and emerging voluntary standards systems in a wide range of sectors, from water, agriculture and forestry to tourism, carbon and fisheries. ISEAL also works with companies, non-profits and governments to support their use of voluntary standards systems for meeting their sustainability targets.
"ISEAL is the global 'touchstone' that identifies the social and environmental certification systems with the strongest procedures for stakeholder consultation in setting standards, for creating solid, credible assurance mechanisms, and for measuring and reporting on impact,” said the Chair of the Equitable Origin Standards Board, Michael Conroy. “It is a very good sign that Equitable Origin has qualified for full membership as quickly as it has. This membership should reassure industry representatives, global and national NGOs, engaged communities, and other stakeholders that Equitable Origin is recognized as meeting the highest standards in the field."
The approval of full membership follows a process of review by ISEAL’s Membership Committee, and Secretariat, and a successful independent evaluation of progress towards implementation of the ISEAL’s Standard-Setting Code.
Full membership in ISEAL confirms Equitable Origin’s commitment to transparent stakeholder consultation in the development of the EO100™ Standard, credible governance and assurance structures and will help increase its ability to scale up long term impacts in oil and gas sector.