< PreviousBiodiversity Impacts Oil Spill Response and Pipeline Integrity Performance Prevention of spills is the ultimate objective. We have in place an automatic alerts system to detect pipeline leaks when they do occur. When a spill does occur, Gran Tierra works in consultation with nearby communities, social leaders, local and national authorities and regulatory agencies to coordinate emergency response activities. The remediation of environmental impacts is a top priority. We conduct water monitoring tests and regulatory inspections to ensure there is no impact on fauna, flora, natural resources. Gran Tierra does not operate in the Arctic and had no hydrocarbon spills impacting shorelines with ESI rankings 8-10. In 2021, we had zero hydrocarbon spills. The table below shows the number of hydrocarbon spills over the past three years. Table 5: Number of Hydrocarbon Spills 7 100% of the volume of spills in 2019 and 2020 were recovered. Figure 4 : Volume of Hydrocarbon Spills7 19 Analyst Corner SASB EM-EP-160a.1 + SASB EM-EP-160a.2 + YearNumber of Spills 20192 20201 20210 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 201920202021 Barrels (bbl) Volume of Hydrocarbon Spills Water Management Importance to Gran Tierra and Approach Monitoring Water Sources Exploration and production operations can consume significant quantities of water and can have impacts on local water resources. A lack of available water could impact production. Contamination of local water resources could result in regulatory fines, reputational damage, or opposition to operations. Gran Tierra does not perform any hydraulic fracturing as part of our operations. We do not withdraw or consume water in regions with high or extremely high baseline water stress as classified by the World Resources Institute’s Water Risk Atlas tool. Gran Tierra Energy understands and shares our stakeholders’ desires to protect rivers, lakes and other water resources and believes that the protection of freshwater is an essential part of responsible oil and gas production. With that in mind, we implement stringent water protection and remediation policies, which exceed regulatory requirements. A comprehensive roadmap has been instituted to reduce the use of surface water where possible, with the goal of achieving zero surface water usage in the coming years. We manage our water use following a risk-based approach to ensure it is not placing stress on local surface water resources. We are also committed to four priorities to ensure that our operations do not have an impact on groundwater and aquifers: •Proven Technology to isolate drilling operations from the environment. •Constant Monitoring of groundwater quality. where the company operates. •Regular Testing of groundwater monitoring wells on a regular basis. •Confirmed Results – Independent monitoring and testing to confirm that Gran Tierra has fully safeguarded groundwater quality throughout its history of drilling operations in Colombia. Reducing Surface Water Use and Wastewater Discharges Fresh water is provided for domestic use at our camps and utilized for business operations including well maintenance and drilling activities in some locations. In pursuit of Gran Tierra Energy’s goal of reducing surface water use and to reduce wastewater discharges to as close to zero as possible, the water that is produced alongside crude from the deep underground wells is recycled and reinjected into the reservoirs to maintain pressure in many of the Company’s fields. We also reuse rainwater collected at the San Alberto camp for domestic purposes to reduce the need to draw from local shallow aquifers. In accordance with company policy and Colombia regulations, Gran Tierra regularly monitors and analyzes surface and groundwater using an external lab certified by government authorities. We conduct regular testing of 176 groundwater monitoring wells on a regular basis, 38 in the Middle Magdalena Valley, and 136 in Putumayo. We have collected and tested over 1,100 water samples throughout our water monitoring programs in 2021. During drilling, a formation integrity test is conducted to measure the strength and integrity of the formation. Well design incorporates measures to isolate production fluids and storage tanks are designed with level alarms and redundant concrete storage berms to prevent impact to the environment in the event of an unplanned discharge of fluids. 20 Analyst Corner SASB EM-EP-140a.1 + SASB EM-EP-140a.3 + SASB EM-EP-140a.4 +Water Management Case Study: Water Monitoring Gran Tierra Energy funds additional independent water studies for local communities in Colombia if they want to hire their own laboratory to build trust with communities and promote transparency. For more detail see: Inviting Communities to Participate in Water Monitoring. Figure 5: Total Fresh Water Withdrawn Figure 6: Total Fresh Water Consumed Performance 21 Analyst Corner 650 700 750 800 850 900 201920202021 Thousand Cubic Metres (m³) Total Fresh Water Withdrawn 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 201920202021 Thousand Cubic Metres (m³) Total Fresh Water Consumed Figure 7: Volume of Produced Water and Flowback Generated 0 1000 2000 3000 4000 5000 6000 7000 201920202021 Thousand Cubic Metres (m³) Volume of Produced Water and Flowback Generated In 2021, 8.27% of produced water and flow black generated was discharged, 91.47% was injected and 0.25% was recycled. The hydrocarbon content in discharged water was 0.22 metric tons. SASB EM-EP-140a.1 + Case Study: Water Monitoring + SASB EM-EP-140a.2 +Social Gran Tierra Energy’s material social factorsinclude: •Community Relations •Security, Human Rights and Rights of Indigenous Peoples •Workforce Health and Safety •Human Capital Management We are committed to providing meaningful opportunities for economic growth, community development and local content development, prioritizing local goods and services, and investing in social and environmental projects. The position(s) with the highest level of accountability for each of the ESG factors included in the social section can be found within the Importance to Gran Tierra and Approach sub-sections. 22 Analyst Corner Human Rights Policy + Oil and gas exploration and production can have a range of environmental and social impacts that affect local communities. Communities are a key partner and stakeholder, and we require their support to continue to operate. Opposition from local communities could increase costs, disrupt our operations, and significantly impact our reputation. Additionally, our workforce is primarily comprised of employees that come from local communities. Engaging with communities is one of our most important activities as a long-term ally. The trust that the Gran Tierra team has built through years of meaningful engagement in Colombia has been an important factor in our success. This genuine respect and trust will continue to be earned by adhering to responsible business practices and understanding that communities are important stakeholders. Gran Tierra contributes to local, regional, and national economic development in Colombia in many ways, including through taxes, royalties, jobs, local procurement of supplies and services, social investments, training and education programs and voluntary social and environmental programs. Gran Tierra’s Human Rights Policy guides all our social efforts with communities. It commits Gran Tierra to contribute to the socioeconomic development of the communities where we operate to engage in open dialogue with communities, and to establish grievance and claim mechanisms that are transparent, culturally appropriate, and accessible that allow for the establishment of an immediate communication channel with the communities. Gran Tierra’s community engagement efforts are targeted to meet one or more of the following strategic objectives: •Providing consistent, accurate information about current activities and future plans to protect authorities and communities from misinformation. •Building and maintaining strong and trusting relationships within the communities that are in close proximity to operations. All production and exploration activities rely upon the strength of our relationships among institutional, community and individual stakeholders. •Being accessible to receive feedback about any and all topics related to the Company and our operations. It is important to be in the communities every day, listening, responding to concerns and ensuring people are heard. Staying connected creates transparent relationships that ensure GTE is aware of all issues. Gran Tierra’s social engagement programs are integrated with our Human Rights and HSE programs, with staff from each collaborating closely on strategy and implementation. This integrated approach has been built into GTE’s culture. Simply put, engagement is at the heart of the Company’s successful operations. The Vice President, HSE & CSR has ultimate accountability for community relations at Gran Tierra Energy. Community Relations Importance to Gran Tierra and Approach SASB EM-EP-210b.1 +Respectfully engaging with and listening to local communities that are part of the area of influence of our activities is a key priority. Trust, transparency, and respect are important pillars of our approach to social engagement. As part of our efforts to maintain a strong, positive relationship with local communities. Gran Tierra has local offices that are part of a program called Gran Tierra Energy Te Escucha (Gran Tierra Energy Listens). The offices serve as an important focal point for community-based interactions and are cornerstones of our community engagement pillars. The role of each office is to create a physical, easily accessible channel for community members to engage in two-way communications with the company. In 2021, three offices in Colombia were reopened as the threat to public health from COVID-19 became manageable throughout the year. Community members are encouraged to visit the offices in an effort to answer questions or uncover potential grievances. This important feedback from community partners can highlight opportunities for improvement or specific issues that the company must respond to. We also launched the Te Escucha program in Quito, Ecuador to support our future operations there and we are receiving and responding to inquiries. We have been sharing our experiences and best practices in operations and sustainability with the Ecuadorian authorities to show how our approach to being a responsible operator will be applied in Ecuador. Gran Tierra seeks to provide quality, timely, coherent, efficient, and responsible responses that build trust, manage expectations, and minimize risks. Whether Gran Tierra has delegated an activity or performed it directly, we are committed to being responsible for how it is carried out. This procedure embodies principles recommended by the World Bank Group and performance criteria that are set forth in the UN’s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Gran Tierra maintains multiple channels to manage petitions, questions, complaints, or claims (known as PQRs in Spanish) through our Grievance Management System. Increased numbers of PQRs are welcomed by the Company and considered a positive indicator of open engagement. There are four in-person and correspondence-based channels that people can use to file PQRs: local offices, email, designated employees, and mailbox. These are screened and go through the documentation centre and the coordination centre. Everything is coded with a report received in real time at Gran Tierra’s headquarters in Canada and regular reports are sent to senior management. An Effectiveness Committee meets every month, looking at trends. One database captures all of these interactions, and cases are expected to be addressed between 3 and 12 calendar days from when they were opened, if possible. To ensure that the system continues to improve, internal and external satisfaction surveys and performance statistics are reviewed by senior management team on a regular basis. Analyst Corner Human Rights Policy + SASB EM-EP-210b.1 + 23 Maintaining Channels for Constructive Engagement An Effective Grievance Management System Community RelationsCommunity Relations GTE has several programs that let people see first-hand what we are doing to minimize the impact of our operations on the environment. One program is called Familiarization Trips (Fam Trips), which involves encouraging stakeholders to visit production sites and observe our practices, particularly with respect to operations and the environment. This program has proved to be effective in countering myths some people have regarding industry practices, by providing basic information about hydrocarbons, and by providing basic information on how oil operations work. Some visitors come from areas near current operations and some are from areas where GTE is planning to operate. In addition to jobs and employee development, providing opportunities for local businesses to participate and grow with Gran Tierra’s operations is a fundamental company value. Gran Tierra continues to increase opportunities for local contractors and suppliers through a strategy focusing on putting local companies first to meet our needs for goods and services, only expanding the search beyond the locality if no qualified providers are available. Gran Tierra is committed to ensure that economic benefits flow from our operations to local businesses and communities. Our Fair Bidding Process and other procurement procedures are designed to maximize opportunities for local and regional communities. Driving Gran Tierra’s competitive and transparent Fair Bidding Process for goods and services are the Company’s commitments to: •Comply with all national laws and nine relevant corporate policies. •Share the same information with all potential bidders, including strong tender documents and clear and fair rules about the proposal process. The contracting process is subject to regular internal and external audits in order to verify that the supply chain procedure and company policies are being followed. GTE informs each vendor about the results of the bidding process, and bidders can request additional information to help them understand what they need to do to improve their chances in the future. Gran Tierra is also focused on mitigating supply chain risks and streamlining the procurement process by creating a database of over 1,100 local companies that can bid on contracts. We require that national contractors to give preference to local suppliers. Vendors can go through a prequalification process which confirms eligibility and helps them increase their skills. Familiarization Trips 24 Analyst Corner Local Content SASB EM-EP-210b.1 +Community Relations 25 Key Partners Program GTE’s successful Key Partners program has evolved from a simple award given to the best performing vendors into an integrated, multi-stage program. The program has led to significant growth in the capabilities and competitiveness of vendors and is comprised of five strategic areas: educational development/skills training, relationship building, supply chain connections, operational excellence, and economic growth. For more on the Key Partners program including the components, expectations of members, see: Key Partners. GRAN TIERRA’S COMMITMENT TO OUR KEY PARTNERS 1. ECONOMIC GROWTH Gran Tierra Energy promotes free competition as a constitutional right. This encourages local businesses to provide higher quality goods and services not only to our operations, but also to Colombia. 2. EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT Gran Tierra developes educational programs tailored to the needs of our local suppliers. Through these programs we are providing opportunities for educational advancement with well-respected academic institutions. 3. IMPROVED NETWORKING We provide our Key Partners with full access to the database for commercial opportunities with Gran Tierra and our contractors. 4. SUSTAINABLE RELATIONSHIPS Gran Tierra recognizes the importance of sustaining strong relationships with our suppliers and contractors through our Key Partners program. We are always willing to listen and assist our Key Partners. Figure 8: Key Partners Program Local Suppliers Development Program Also contributing to the increase in local economic benefits is the company’s Local Suppliers Development Program. The main objective of the program is to transfer business knowledge and skills to local entrepreneurs in GTE’s areas of operation through classes called “Diploma Courses.” Focusing on important enabling areas like business skills, e-commerce and marketing, the goal of the program, which delivers over 200 hours of classroom and online training, is to raise the participants’ commercial, legal and competitive capabilities to strengthen their businesses. The program has been conducted in the Putumayo for 10 years and 5 years in the Middle Magdalena Valley. Works for Taxes (WFT) is a program created by the Colombian government that allows Gran Tierra to use up to 50% of our income tax contributions to directly develop and implement local projects that improve livelihoods, support economic development, and help stabilize territories most affected by poverty and the previous armed conflict. WFT is also an important component of Colombia’s Territorially Focused Development Programs (PDETs) following the 2016 peace agreement signed between the FARC-EP guerrilla movement and the Colombian government. The PDETs are a vital tool for rural development and lasting territorial peace that empowers local communities to decide how funds should be invested in their territories. Through the WFT program, Gran Tierra has implemented four projects targeting improvements of education, housing and road infrastructure in the Putumayo municipalities, which experience high rates of poverty and food insecurity. Total investment for the first four projects is over COP $10 billion. Investing in Local Communities Analyst Corner SASB EM-EP-210b.1 +Community Relations 26 Gran Tierra’s Social Investment Strategy Effective Engagement Strategy in Ecuador GTE has developed a social investment strategy that reflects the results of a broad study of community and GTE management. The strategy recognizes that two of our most important commitments are to build trusting relationships and to be a good neighbour. The objective is for the company to be a trusted partner with the communities near its operations. Among its many provisions, the strategy calls for social investment to: •Be impactful and measurable •Align with business, Colombian and Ecuadorian government priorities and international Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) •Ensure that a % of beneficiaries belong to vulnerable groups within the community The Economic Development and Beyond Compliance pages on Gran Tierra Energy’s website and the Social Impact section of the 2021 Sustainability Report contain many case studies that highlight our commitments and contributions to local communities via our social investments strategy. Years of operating in Colombia have given Gran Tierra knowledge of the foundational support required to integrate, communicate and measure our social, environmental, health and safety and Human Rights activities in Ecuador. Even though Colombia and Ecuador are only separated by a river, the communities have their own cultures, customs and traditions. We have spent the last two years ahead of our development and exploration activities to focus on providing consistent, accurate information about planned activities; building trust within communities; providing channels to receive feedback about the Company and our operations; and early management of impacts and address any community concern. GTE is currently working hand-in-hand with reputable experts to design and implement social investment programs and is committed to helping the communities regardless of our explorational success in the region. A sustainable, inclusive agriculture program that promotes biodiversity conservation is already underway. As we began on-site activities, conversations with communities shifted towards concerns related to local hiring. GTE is committed to transparency and hiring locally to the maximum extent possible in Ecuador. The Company is also applying lessons learned, incorporating health, safety and Human Rights standards into contracts for vendors. Analyst Corner SASB EM-EP-210b.1 +Community Relations 27 Analyst Corner In 2021, Gran Tierra had 81 non-technical delays that lasted an aggregate of 270 days. Non-technical delays were driven by a range of different factors including related to environment, government issues, and labour, roads. For those factors within Gran Tierra’s control, the Company continues to enhance its approach to engaging with stakeholders to minimize impacts to operations. In 2021, Gran Tierra received 961 total PQRs and 100% were resolved. Increased numbers of PQRs are considered a positive indicator of open engagement. Performance Figure 9: GTE’s Social Investment Figure 10: PQR’s Resolution Status- 2021 Resolved 100% 961 Total PQR’s 0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5 201920202021 Millions of $ Social Investment Figure 11: Maintaining Channels for Constructive Engagement Maintaining Channels for Constructive Engagement Multiple channels to communicate and accept petitions, question, complaints or claims (PQRs in Spanish) are maintained. CHANNELPQRs E-mail714 Designated Employees133 Office109 Website Inquiry 5 TOTAL 961 PQR TYPE Social Investment 310 Labour Practices166 Impact on Third Parties & Infrastructure152 Contracting Goods & Services139 Stakeholder Information Requests 65 Environmental Impact 53 Land Access 26 COVID-19 20 Prior Consultation 16 Works for Taxes 14 Human Rights 0 ALL PQRS OPENED IN 2021 HAVE BEEN SUCCESSFULLY RESOLVED. 2,000+ COMMUNITY MEETINGS WITH COMMUNITY MEMBERS & REPRESENTATIVES In 2021, Gran Tierra awarded over USD $53 million to local companies and contractors for goods and services SASB EM-EP-210b.2 +Security, Human Rights and Rights of Indigenous Peoples Companies that contribute to human rights violations or fail to account for the unique rights and needs of Indigenous populations could be impacted by protests and delayed operations, that translate into increased costs and significant impacts to reputation. Through our operations in Colombia, Gran Tierra is exposed to a complex post-conflict social context. The country is striving towards achieving a successful reintegration and peace process which will help strengthen civil society and the economic underpinnings of the country. 8.2% of Gran Tierra’s proved reserves are in or near areas of conflict and 8.5% of probable reserves are in or near areas of conflict. Many of the conflicts included in this calculation are related to historic conflicts between the state and armed illegal groups. As a result of the ongoing Peace Process in Colombia, the number of these types of conflicts has dropped dramatically in recent years and does not currently represent a material impact on Gran Tierra’s business in the country. Colombia’s Constitution grants Indigenous groups the right to “Free Prior Informed Consultation” or Consulta Previa (PC) before any project is considered near Indigenous land. Indigenous communities can be found throughout the country, and there are a number of Indigenous groups and several Afro-Colombian groups in the Putumayo near Gran Tierra’s operations. A respect for fundamental rights is an essential pillar of our vision and mission. We are committed to respecting the rights of employees, contractors, suppliers, and communities (including Indigenous communities) within our area of influence in the development of all of our operations and activities. We are committed to prevent and/or mitigate negative consequences on human rights that are caused, contributed to or directly linked to our operations, and to implement effective and appropriate remedies should any adverse event occur that affects fundamental rights as a result of our activities. Gran Tierra Energy’s approach to Human Rights is guided by our Human Rights Policy. The Human Rights Policy was developed with a full commitment to respect the internationally recognized human rights incorporated in the International Bill of Human Rights and the ILO (International Labour Organization) Conventions including the fundamental rights principles established in the ILO Declaration on fundamental principles and rights at work. Additionally, the Policy was developed with the commitment to apply relevant international standards including: •The UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights •The UN Voluntary Principles for Security and Human Rights •The OECD Guidelines for Multinational Companies •The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Business Conduct •The UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development •Gran Tierra’s Code of Business Conduct and Ethics The Human Rights Policy applies to all company activities, covers all employees, and extends to Gran Tierra Energy’s contractors. The Policy outlines our commitments to respecting human rights and articulates specific commitments to our key human rights stakeholders: 1) local communities, 2) employees, contractors and suppliers, and 3) state institutions. 28 Importance to Gran Tierra and Approach Analyst Corner Human Rights Policy + SASB EM-EP-210a.1 + SASB EM-EP-210a.3 +Next >