Respecting human rights, labor standards and environmental justice

We respect the universally recognized human rights of all people, including our personnel, our suppliers and individuals in the communities in which we operate. We work to identify and prevent potential adverse human rights impacts from our operations, and we are committed to remediating impacts should they occur. 

Our due diligence process includes implementing social impact assessments at all site locations to understand community-focused environmental and social risks, including those related to human rights, and developing mitigation and management plans based on the results of these assessments. 

We undertake meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups, and other relevant stakeholders, to understand risks and concerns. We follow stakeholder engagement plans at each site, and conduct regular, proactive engagement and consultation with various stakeholder groups to understand their concerns and provide relevant project information. We have a grievance mechanism in place at all site locations, including procedures to respond to and address stakeholder concerns, from the beginning of project planning and throughout the project life cycle. We log and track community feedback and strive to address concerns in a timely and transparent manner. 

We respect the sovereignty, rights and culture of Indigenous peoples. Proactive engagement with these communities, when relevant based on the locations of our operations, is an important element of our overall stakeholder engagement, consultation and grievance processes.

Cheniere strives to ensure that its suppliers comply with laws and regulations applicable to the scope of its business activities. We do not use forced labor, prison labor, indentured labor, bonded labor, or child labor in our operations, and we have proactively implemented procedures to seek to minimize the risk of our suppliers using any of the above.

We prioritize equitable treatment and involvement of all individuals irrespective of race, color, national origin or income in the development, implementation and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations and policies. Cheniere is dedicated to acknowledging and addressing the concerns of our stakeholders, including those related to environmental justice (EJ) issues, by actively listening and responding respectfully. We endeavor to comprehend and mitigate the effects of our operations, engage with impacted stakeholders and contribute to meaningful economic development within communities.

Aligned with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Justice, our stakeholder engagement strategy includes a specific focus on EJ communities. Our Social Performance Framework commits us to uphold EJ principles throughout project life cycles, engaging and collaborating with minority, tribal or economically disadvantaged communities. This entails identifying and mitigating EJ issues during social risk assessments, particularly addressing impacts on communities predominantly composed of people of color or those below the poverty line.

Our site-specific social impact assessments evaluate the community-focused environmental and social effects of our operations. This involves assessing the presence of EJ communities based on local demographics and identifying potential EJ issues, such as adverse impacts on human health, the environment, climate and other cumulative effects on disadvantaged communities, along with associated economic challenges. These assessments are continuously updated during ongoing operations. Our approach adheres to international best practices, including the Environmental and Social Performance frameworks of the International Finance Corporation, guidance from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development, and the Equator Principles.

Addressing potential environmental justice impacts is integrated into our targeted stakeholder engagement, community investment initiatives and grievance procedures.