To manage the identified material impacts, risks and opportunities related to all affected communities near our operations, our Code of Conduct and Human Rights Policy Statement, serve as overarching documents outlining our general commitments to affected communities and their human rights. The Sustainability Directive outlines specific processes and covers social responsibility, including community relations, development and social investments, human rights, volunteering, and NGO relations for OMV. Additionally, the Community Relations and Development handbook is available for all OMV community relations managers. For details on the IROs, see ESRS 2 General Information.
Code of Conduct
OMV’s Code of Conduct (CoC) outlines several commitments that recognize the direct and indirect interdependencies between our activities and the communities surrounding our operations. To address the negative impact related to the failure to respect, protect, and fulfill economic, social, political, civil, and cultural rights, or neglecting community consultation, compensation, and reparation related to our supply chain or our own operations, OMV is committed to ensuring that affected communities are informed about safety risks stemming from our operations, including appropriate communication and procedures in emergency situations. Up-to-date safety measures are developed within the Group for use in ecologically sensitive or densely populated areas. We also respect the rights of access to information, public participation in decision-making, and access to justice. Affected stakeholders, such as relevant local communities, are proactively informed of planned and ongoing works and their impacts, as well as mitigation measures being taken by OMV.
Our business development can potentially disturb cultural heritage sites of indigenous people and other communities, adversely affecting the preservation of local cultural heritage and its tangible and intangible values through damage, interference, or restriction of access. The inability to avoid involuntary resettlement can also lead to negative impacts on the economic, social, or cultural well-being of the rights holders in the affected communities, further exacerbating the challenges they face. In the event of OMV interference with the rights of relevant local communities, especially those of indigenous peoples, we are committed to developing adequate mitigation, reparation, and compensation plans in close consultation with all relevant stakeholders, including the host government. Indigenous peoples are acknowledged as social groups with identities distinct from mainstream groups in national societies and are often among the most marginalized and vulnerable. We are committed to addressing any adverse impacts on local culture, religion, customs, traditions, indigenous peoples’ rights, legitimate land, or livelihoods in our business activities and through our community funding projects.
For the Code of Conduct, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), interests of key stakeholders in setting the policy (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in E1 Climate Change.
Human Rights Policy Statement
The OMV Human Rights Policy Statement stipulates our commitments to affected communities and indigenous people which are embedded within our Code of Conduct.
To address the negative impacts related to the failure to respect, protect, and fulfill economic, social, political, civil, and cultural rights, our Human Rights Policy Statement mandates that local security and community engagement strategies, particularly in high-risk areas, follow a preventive, defensive, and community-focused approach. We also actively involve surrounding communities and consider their security concerns when planning and implementing security-related activities. Our social license to operate relies on upholding human and labor rights and fostering positive relationships with affected communities Therefore, we commit to respecting, fulfilling, and supporting the human rights of our communities, while avoiding or mitigating any risks to health or safety from project-related activities. Individuals and groups likely to be in vulnerable situations, such as children, women, indigenous peoples, and human rights defenders are prioritized.
For the Human Rights Policy Statement, unless otherwise specified, the process for monitoring, the scope of the policy, involvement of senior-level management, reference to third-party standards (where relevant), interests of key stakeholders in setting the policy (where relevant), and how the policy is made available to potentially affected stakeholders are covered in S1 Human Rights.
Commitments for Affected Communities and Indigenous Peoples
OMV is dedicated to addressing any adverse impacts on local culture, religion, customs, traditions, indigenous peoples’ rights, legitimate lands, or livelihoods caused by our business operations and community investment projects.
OMV adheres to the principle of free, prior, and informed consent, in line with the International Finance Corporation (IFC) Performance Standard 7 and ILO Convention 169. This commitment includes community consultations to ensure that the rights, culture, and traditions of indigenous peoples are respected and protected. OMV is dedicated to avoiding involuntary resettlement and maintains a zero-tolerance policy for illegitimate land grabbing. We respect legitimate tenure rights related to land and natural resources, including water, as per IFC Performance Standard 5. In cases where OMV’s activities might interfere with the rights of affected communities, particularly indigenous peoples, we commit to developing mitigation, reparation, and compensation plans in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including the host government.
We maintain regular dialogue with various stakeholders, including individuals from our local communities, whom we regard as crucial partners in achieving our objectives. We engage with these communities regarding our human rights impacts through the Social and Human Rights Impact Assessment process and regular consultation sessions. Local needs identified through this process and feedback received during consultations guide our investment priorities. The negative and positive impacts on affected communities are addressed and managed through specific policies such as the Group Sustainability Directive and the Community Grievance Mechanism at the local level. See Processes to remediate negative impacts and channels for affected communities to raise concerns.
The OMV Human Rights Policy Statement and Human Rights Management System are specifically aligned with the International Bill of Human Rights, international humanitarian law (where applicable), International Labour Organization (ILO) core treaties, the UN Global Compact, the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to ensure the rights of affected communities and indigenous peoples are respected and protected. For more details, see S1 Human Rights.
Sustainability Directive
To ensure that local communities near our operations benefit from our presence, the Sustainability Directive outlines the requirements for obtaining and maintaining the social license to operate through partnership-oriented relations and development with affected communities around OMV operations. Social investments in community relations and development address identified community needs and are designed to mitigate social risks from company operations while managing positive change for affected communities, as well as creating valuable business opportunities by fostering trust, collaboration, and mutual benefit between OMV and the communities it impacts. This Directive applies to OMV’s global operations, including Borealis and OMV Petrom, but excludes certain subsidiaries such as SapuraOMV.
Community relations development responsibilities are assigned to each deliverable to ensure the function is managed according to the Sustainability Directive, which is approved by the Executive Board. Key responsibilities include supporting the implementation of community relations and development activities to secure social acceptance of business operations in the country. This involves supporting the implementation of community relations and development activities at the field site as per the approved strategy and plan by the general manager on site, assisting the community relations manager in planning, budgeting, and reporting these activities in the country, establishing and maintaining relationships with local community stakeholders, and addressing local concerns and complaints in accordance with community grievance management systems. Additionally, it involves monitoring community stakeholders’ attitudes toward the Company to mitigate negative impacts on the business and informing line management of any serious social issues that have wider implications for project activities. The community relations and engagement process, which is governed by the Sustainability Directive, is used to monitor effectiveness.
The OMV Sustainability Strategy and related activities are aligned to contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. In line with these efforts, we prioritize investments in community relations and development to address the needs of affected communities and manage positive changes resulting from our operations.