Ipieca describes itself as the global oil and gas association for advancing environmental and social performance across the energy transition, and has been promoting good practice for over 50 years. It was founded at the request of the United Nations Environment Programme in 1974 and states that, through its non-lobby and collaborative approach, it remains the industry's principal channel of engagement with the UN. Its office is in London, with a switchboard number of +44 (0)20 7633 2388, and the website carries an Ipieca Ltd copyright running to 2026.
How the association positions itself
Ipieca's non-lobby status is central to its model: it shares technical knowledge, holds dialogue and builds partnerships with UN bodies, intergovernmental organisations, NGOs, finance and academia rather than advocating commercial positions. It works across the full value chain, covering upstream, midstream and downstream activities as well as alternative energy technologies and full project life cycles, and it addresses climate, nature, people and sustainability issues together rather than in isolation. Members commit to the Ipieca Principles, a set of eight commitments that frame the association's approach to sustainable development.
Membership
Three membership categories are open to qualifying organisations that support the principles:
- Corporate members — international and national oil and gas companies of any size with exploration, production, transportation or refining operations, including those that have diversified into renewables and low-carbon energy.
- Associate members — service companies working in exploration, production, treatment, storage or transportation of oil and gas, many of which also serve renewable energy operators.
- Association members — international, regional and national associations covering environmental or social aspects of exploration, production or refining.
Members agree to support the Ipieca Principles and vision, take part in at least two Ipieca groups, respect the association's non-lobby status, comply with its articles of association, and observe applicable anti-trust, competition and sanctions law. Prospective members are directed to the association's membership enquiry contact.
Work programmes
The work plan is organised around four themes plus marine spill response, each with its own workstreams:
- Climate — low-emissions pathways, emissions management, engagement with the UNFCCC and IPCC, and improving fuels and products.
- Nature — environmental stewardship, biodiversity protection and water management.
- People — human rights, working with local communities, just transition and responsible security.
- Sustainability — sustainability reporting, support for the Sustainable Development Goals, sustainable supply chains and alternative energy.
- Marine spill — technical stewardship, the Global Initiative, dispersants, and alternative fuels and products.
Guidance, partnerships and recent output
Ipieca publishes guidance, good-practice documents and tools that members and the wider industry use to improve performance, and it maintains a members area and an e-news list for updates. Its long-running partnership with the International Maritime Organization, the IMO-Ipieca Global Initiative, marked 30 years of work to prevent and limit the impact of marine spills, protect coastal communities and improve the safety of maritime workers. Ipieca also convenes joint technical sessions with other bodies: during 2026 it ran a carbon capture and storage webinar series with SPE, its Gaia and CCUS technical sections, OGCI and IOGP, published insights from the World Bank's global gas flaring data for 2025, and issued material on embedding circularity across asset life cycles, the geopolitics of the energy transition and energy transition priorities for the Global South. The 2025 Annual Review was published in April 2026.
Contact
General enquiries go to [email protected] or through the enquiry form on the contact page, which also carries the telephone number +44 (0)20 7633 2388. The site is available in English, Chinese, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish, and members can sign in to a restricted area or request access. Joining enquiries are handled through a dedicated form.