As leading energy companies came to recognize the value of integrating biodiversity conservation into upstream oil and gas development, several of them joined with leading conservation organizations to develop and promote biodiversity conservation practices for meeting this goal. Their partnership, the Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI), which began in 2001 and ceased in 2007 produced practical guidelines, tools and models to improve the environmental performance of energy operations, minimize harm to biodiversity, and maximize opportunities for conservation wherever oil and gas resources are developed.

During the first phase of the EBI, the member organizations worked together to produce the products found on this website. The main report, Integrating Biodiversity Conservation into Oil & Gas Development, was published in August 2003. The report is intended to be a practical guide for building biodiversity protection into the entire spectrum of oil and gas operations, from exploration to decommissioning. In addition to this report, guides, discussion papers and resources were developed (all of which can be found in the Products section of the website). The EBI members consulted with several key stakeholders from industry, academia, and the environmental community prior to launching the EBI products. In particular, a Consultative Workshop was held in January 2002 to solicit input from these constituencies on the report and supplemental documents.

The EBI members then entered into a second phase designed to promote the ideas and practices outlined in the EBI products. The main goal was for industry to adopt, disseminate, apply, and gather feedback on, the EBI report and products. EBI Phase II included activities by organizations to adopt and apply the results and recommendations of the Initiative to their own systems and operations. In addition, efforts were made to disseminate and promote the products throughout the oil and gas sector. The main EBI report was translated into multiple languages (French, Spanish, Portuguese, and Chinese) to allow for even broader dissemination in key regions of oil and gas development. At the end of Phase II, the EBI published a report entitled the Energy and Biodiversity Initiative (EBI): Report on Progress (which can be found in the News Section of the website). The final phase of the EBI was dedicated to the continued dissemination and promotion of the EBI guidelines with strategic audiences around the globe.

After more than six years of collaboration, the EBI members have decided to cease formal activity as the EBI group. While the group will no longer be working as a whole, each member continues to be committed to looking for opportunities to apply the recommendations set forth in the EBI and promoting its messages to relevant audiences around the globe. The Energy and Biodiversity Initiative has been instrumental in helping companies understand and address biodiversity conservation and it provides an effective framework for the management of biodiversity across multiple industries.