ID: 1746
Presenting Author: Andrew Graham
Session: 527 - The importance of effective communication for Impact Assessments
Status: pending
A focus on building long-term relationships with Australian Indigenous Traditional Owners has led to improved impact assessments and risk mitigations for offshore oil and gas activities.
Woodside Energy consults with Indigenous Peoples through a range of Traditional Owner representative institutions during the assessment and approvals process for offshore oil and gas activities in Australia. Woodside has established a dedicated Indigenous engagement team to lead these efforts. Drawing on decades of experience, the team deliberately focuses on establishing and sustaining long-term relationships with Traditional Owner representative institutions, rather than limiting interactions to transactional communications. The methods used have included: nominating dedicated relationship holders for these organisations; the development of tailored consultation material, including non-technical summaries of activities and short informational videos; a commitment to meet in person when possible; and ongoing consultation. Traditional Owners have shared information with Woodside about culturally significant species and places, allowing these important considerations to be addressed in environmental impact assessments. Through early engagement and collaboration Woodside has implemented mitigations to reduce risks to cultural heritage and the broader environment. This commitment to ongoing, respectful relationships with Traditional Owner representative institutions has delivered better impact assessment outcomes across a wide range of locations and activities.
Andrew Graham is the Manager of Global Heritage at Woodside Energy, responsible for identifying and managing risks to cultural heritage across the company’s activities around the world.