In announcing the award, APPEA board member and Buru Energy executive chairman Eric Streitberg said the judges found that Woodside had shown consistent excellence in environmental management. This included strategic planning, risk management, monitoring and evaluation.

"The company is an industry leader in community and stakeholder engagement, and in developing and implementing environmental projects that deliver public benefits," Streitberg said.

"Woodside has also shown a strong commitment to environmental research, particularly in marine science."

Its marine research projects have involved collaboration with universities, CSIRO, the Australian Institute of Marine Science, the Western Australian Museum and the WA Department of Parks and Wildlife.

Woodside's flagship research projects include the Scott Reef Maxima Seismic Survey and the Rankin Bank and Glomar Shoals Study.

Streitberg said Woodside had a long history of cutting-edge environmental management.

Woodside's workforce had, among other things, developed an environment guide book to support managers and "environment walks" that complement traditional safety walks.

The environmental walk involves leaders walking around work sites, such as the Karratha Gas Plant, and using site-specific environmental management checks and questions to acquire information that can inform environmental risk planning workshops.

In 2005, Woodside was one of the first organisations in the country to grant its employees 12 hours paid leave to undertake volunteering activities as part of a program which includes a partnership with Conservation Volunteers Australia.

Woodside chief operating officer Mike Utsler also thanked the company's partners:

"It's wonderful to receive this award, which recognises Woodside's longstanding commitment to the environment, the hard work of our people and our great partnerships with research organisations."

Two straight for Esso

ExxonMobil subsidiary Esso Australia, meanwhile, won the APPEA Safety Excellence Award for the second year in a row last night.

The award recognises responsible management of risk based on sound science, application of new technologies, and constructive engagement with the workforce, project partners, government and the wider industry in enhancing workplace health and safety.

Esso Australia was recognised for using safety training, reporting and audits to learn from minor events, identify priorities for improvement and drive continuous improvement in safety performance.

The achievement is especially significant as last year the company undertook drilling operations at its Marlin B platform in Bass Strait, began building a new Gas Conditioning Plant at its Longford Plants and undertook major maintenance shutdowns.

This achieved a new company record for recordable injury rate and no lost time injuries were incurred across almost 4.5 million work hours.

The judges also recognised ExxonMobil's participation in many industry activities, including Stand Together for Safety, the Australian Maritime Spill Response Committee, IChemE Safety and the Safety Case Working Group.

ExxonMobil Australia chairman Richard Owen said safety was "not just a priority but rather a core value" for Esso.

"This recognition is a reflection of the outstanding efforts of all of our workforce and I thank each and every one of them for their unwavering commitment to safety," he said.