At QP we recognize and accept our corporate social responsibility.

Our positive action includes:

• Applying sustainable development principles to continue economic development while protecting the environment and providing a better quality of life

• Integrating economic, environmental and social aspects into all business decisions

• Achieving sound environmental performance by minimizing the impacts of our activities

• Seeking better ways to manage natural resources, use less energy and reduce emissions

• Complying with applicable national and international environmental legislation and subscribing to best management, technology and environmental procedures and standards

As a community partner, QP demonstrates its strong concern for the environment by sponsoring programs such as school and community environmental awareness and education, environmental workshops, tree planting, marine debris removal and several programs to conserve and protect valuable natural resources such as mangroves, marine turtles, Reem gazelles, houbara bustards and ostriches.

A NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION
Over the years, Qatar has worked hard to develop an attractive and diverse investment location. Now it is focusing on the environment in order to sustain the economy and the future of the country.

With the exception of gas and oil, Qatar has limited natural resources, in particular water, having to rely on desalination and underground sources for the majority of its requirements. Combined with a fragile ecosystem, Qatar can ill-afford to play fast and loose when it comes to the environment.

Qatar was given a clear call to action in 2007, when the UN Development Programme released a report showing that the country had the highest per-capita CO2 emissions in the world, at 79.3 tonnes per person. While a small population meant that the country was a relatively minor contributor to CO2 emissions globally, Qatari authorities responded quickly to reduce its carbon footstep and address other environmental problems.
Protection and management of the environment was made one of the four pillars enshrined in Qatar's National Vision 2030 - a blueprint for the country's strategy for the next two decades - along with human, social and economic development.

The policy document, issued in October 2008, called for a balance to be met between the needs of socioeconomic development and the environment. This is to be done through promoting awareness of ecological issues across society and enacting legislation to support environmental sustainability.

"The environmental pillar will be increasingly important as Qatar is forced to deal with local ecological issues, such as the impact of diminishing water and hydrocarbon resources, the effects of pollution and environmental degradation, and international issues like the potential impact of global warming on water levels in Qatar and thereby on coastal urban development," the document said.

In line with these objectives, the state has taken a number of major steps. In mid-2008, it became one of the main sponsors of a joint project between Shell, Qatar Petroleum, Imperial College London and the Qatar Science & Technology Park to develop new CO2 management plans and carbon-capture technology.

In January 2009, Qatar became the first member state of the Gulf Cooperation Council to join the World Bank's "Global Gas Flaring Reduction" initiative, a public-private partnership that aims to reduce or totally eliminate the release of gas produced during oil extraction into the atmosphere.

Having gained the dubious distinction of generating the largest per-capita carbon emission footprint just three years ago, Qatar is now working hard to make its mark as a protector of the environment and champion for sustainable development.