2021 Assessment of adherence to the Expectations for EITI supporting companies

Data used in the assessment of adherence to the Expectations for EITI supporting companies

The EITI International Secretariat’s first-time assessment of adherence to the Expectations for EITI supporting companies began in March 2021 and was completed in May 2021. The aggregate results from the assessment were presented to the EITI Board at the June 2021 Board meeting in Board Paper 50-4 Assessment of adherence to the Expectations for EITI supporting companies: results and recommendations. Individual company results from the assessment were available upon request by EITI Board members in a confidential annexe to the paper.

This annexe consists of an Excel spreadsheet with data collected by the International Secretariat during the assessment process for all 62 EITI supporting companies that were assessed. The data was based on publicly available sources and information, mostly obtained from companies’ own websites.

Recognising that the data used in the assessment was already in the public domain, and thus there was limited concern about the commercial sensitivity of the information, and considering EITI’s role in improving transparency and accountability in the extractives sector, the EITI Board decided in July 2021 to publish this annexe.

While EITI supporting companies were given the opportunity to object to publication of their individual company results from the assessment, no companies objected.

To understand the data presented in the annexe it is important to understand the nature of the Expectations and the assessment process, as well as the objectives of the review of company adherence to the Expectations. These include, but are not limited to:

1. The Expectations are not requirements. The assessment process did not decide “non-compliance” versus “compliance” for supporting companies.

2. Many companies were in the process of preparing their 2020 disclosures during the period that the assessment was conducted and had not yet provided all the disclosures outlined in the Expectations. As a result, the assessment may not capture the most up-do-date information for each company.

3. The Expectations were agreed in 2018, to be primarily applicable to supporting international oil and gas and mining companies. Since 2018, the EITI’s company constituency has evolved to include state-owned enterprises, commodity traders, financial institutions, manufacturers, and a small number of foundations. Of these entities, state-owned enterprises, commodity traders and a manufacturer were included in the assessment. However, the Expectations were not developed to specifically apply to these entities, so the results for these entities should be qualified.

4. This was a first-time assessment. Not all supporting companies fully understood the types of disclosures expected and, as a result, they were not providing information in line with the Expectations. The assessment process, however, has been a useful tool to raise awareness about the Expectations. Many companies have provided new disclosures, updated their disclosures and/or are in the process of improving disclosures in response to the assessment.

5. The assessment process revealed that some of the Expectations are unclear and/or are difficult to assess because they lack quantitative measures. Many companies, as a result, struggled to understand what was being expected of them, which impacted their disclosures.

The objectives of the review were to raise awareness among companies about the Expectations, to assess company progress in meeting the Expectations, to identify good disclosure practices by companies, and to identify gaps in adherence to inform the International Secretariat and supporting companies on areas for improvement. These objectives have been achieved. 

At its October Board meeting, the EITI Board will consider additional clarifications to better assist companies in understanding and meeting the Expectations.

The support of all members of the company constituency is vital to drive the EITI process within EITI implementing countries, to expand the reach of the EITI and to shape transparency and good governance globally. The EITI International Secretariat looks forward to supporting and working with supporting companies to improve progress on the Expectations and to collectively advance the mission of the EITI.