Sustainability

As a natural gas pipeline, TAP aims to provide affordable, secure and lower-carbon energy supplies to Europe, while minimising our impact on local communities and the environment.  

As one of Europe’s important energy infrastructure operators, we are committed to observing good industry practice, complying with applicable legal requirements, and abiding by appropriate national and international standards.  

Our operations are guided by our commitment to sustainability. They embody key sustainability principles, including a precautionary approach, risk management, impact minimisation, stakeholder inclusion and transparency. 

TAP operates a safety-first, zero-harm policy. Our values and Code of Conduct affirm our commitment to protecting the environment, to  safety, and to the communities living near the pipeline. 

To ensure that the way we work reflects our sustainability aims, we monitor, report on and gain assurance about all our operational activities on the ground. To embed our sustainability commitments into the everyday activities of TAP and its people, we have developed a dynamic environmental, social and cultural heritage (ESCH) management system.  

During the construction period, where environmental impacts were inevitable, our approach was to use offsetting measures to avoid net loss to biodiversity and, wherever possible, to bring a net gain to natural habitats. We developed ecological management documents to support identification and management of biodiversity features and ensure ecosystem vitality along the entire pipeline route. 

We understand that pipeline construction may result in short-term environmental and social impacts for project-affected-persons. We value the economic and social importance of agricultural land to many of the communities affected by pipeline construction and developed livelihood restoration programmes, which offer specialist support and agronomists to help and advise affected people, over and above the financial compensation that individuals received for the purchase or use of their land. Our Livelihood Restoration Procedure supports households affected by pipeline construction with actions towards livelihood restoration. 

In addition, our Social and Environmental Investment (SEI) programme helps to address the development priorities of local communities in sustainable ways, while supporting our business objectives. TAP has committed to invest more than €55 million through these SEI programmes. 

We run a diverse range of training and development programmes on topics such as cultural heritage, waste management, security and human rights, ecology and stakeholder engagement.  

We also regularly audit our activities and those of our contractors and seek continuous improvement in the sustainability of all our activities.  

TAP’s commitment to the future ranges from our role in opening the Southern Gas Corridor into Europe to help secure the continent’s energy future, to our contributions to the development of the host countries and communities along the pipeline route.  

With domestic gas production steadily declining across Europe, the pipeline helps secure the continent’s energy future by transporting natural gas from a new source. As this is the cleanest fossil fuel, TAP will play an increasingly important role in achieving the EU’s commitment to reducing carbon emissions and achieving its environmental targets. 

Throughout the pipeline’s lifetime, TAP’s host countries should continue to attract direct foreign investment, and their economic development will continue to be stimulated by more competitive energy markets. While the majority of employment gains occurred during construction, the pipeline will continue to create both direct and indirect employment opportunities for decades to come.