Neptune Energy has been awarded Gold Standard status by the United Nation’s Environmental Program (UNEP), recognizing the company’s detailed plans to reduce methane emissions to near zero by 2030.

The Gold Standard award was provided by the Oil and Gas Methane Partnership 2.0, a voluntary initiative launched by the UNEP, and was featured in the U.N.’s newly-published International Methane Emissions Observatory (IMEO) report.

The report provides detailed global emissions data which is helping inform action plans to tackle methane levels, and to track progress against commitments made by companies and governments.

“Neptune has one of the lowest methane intensities in the oil and gas sector at 0.02%, in comparison with the industry average of 0.15%, and we’re on track to achieve our target of near zero methane emissions by the end of this decade,” Simon Taylor, Neptune Energy’s director of Global HSEQ, said.

Neptune is a member of the Aiming for Zero Methane Emissions Initiative, a CEO-led project which aims to eliminate the oil and gas industry’s methane footprint by 2030. Signatories to the initiative aim to reach near zero methane emissions from their operated assets by the end of this decade, avoid methane venting and flaring, and report methane emissions transparently.

“We have put in place detailed plans to cut emissions from our operations and are committed to transparent reporting,” Taylor added. “That includes employing the latest technologies and best practices to identify and reduce methane emissions, eliminate routine flaring and upgrade equipment at our sites.”