Chevron Corporation this week issued its comprehensive Corporate Responsibility Report detailing its 2004 socioeconomic and environmental performance.
SAN RAMON, California — Chevron Corporation this week issued its comprehensive Corporate Responsibility Report detailing its 2004 socioeconomic and environmental performance.
It has become common practice now for large corporations to issue such reports. The debate is over whether the reports serve as a public relations opportunity for the firms, or if they are a genuine window into the practices of the company.
The CEO of Chevron makes the case for the latter:
“While corporate responsibility has long been a part of how we operate, it also has taken on an increasingly strategic role,” said Dave O’Reilly, chairman and CEO of Chevron. “To succeed today, our company must demonstrate world-class performance across every aspect of our business, from technical and financial performance to our contributions to and impact on society and the environment.
“This report is an important example of our commitment to transparency, and in 2004, we made significant progress in several areas. It was our safest year ever. We took steps to enhance our approach to environmental stewardship, and we began to deploy a global policy to address HIV/AIDS, building on earlier efforts that were well under way within our South Africa, Nigeria and Angola operations. Going forward, we will continue to focus on delivering the right results in the right way,” added O’Reilly.
Highlights of Chevron’s corporate responsibility performance include:
HIV/AIDS Global Policy: Chevron finalized and began deployment of its global HIV/AIDS policy. The policy provides guidelines for employees on items such as nondiscrimination, benefits, and education and prevention. It also outlines the company’s intent and long-term goal to secure treatment for employees and dependents in their country or region of employment.
Community Engagement: Investments of nearly $64 million were dedicated to community projects around the world. This figure is in addition to the in-kind support, employee volunteer efforts, and additional contributions and impact leveraged through partnerships such as the Angola Partnership Initiative. In addition, key activities in 2004 included, providing more than $12 million in tsunami disaster relief primarily in Indonesia, working with the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership to provide learning centers in Africa, and pledging nearly $9 million to assist innovative education and job training programs primarily in the United States.
Health and Safety: 2004 was "Chevron’s safest year on record for its global operations" according to the company; yet in 2004 there were 17 fatalities involving employees and contractors, with motor vehicle accidents remaining the most frequent cause of death. Chevron says it "will continue to strive to reduce fatalities ”“ and all incidents ”“ to zero."
Environment and Efficiency: More than 1800 executives and managers were trained to support the company’s Operational Excellence Management System, which covers safety, health, environment, reliability and efficiency objectives. Chevron reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by more than 1 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent, meeting its corporatewide emissions goal in 2004. This reduction reflects in part the company’s continuing efforts to reduce the flaring of natural gas. The company’s spill performance has continued to improve, with spill volume declining 42 percent between 2003 and 2004. Over the past five years, the volume of oil spills has been reduced by more than 90 percent. Also in 2004, the U.S. Department of Energy selected Chevron to lead a consortium to explore the practical applications for hydrogen infrastructure and fuel cell vehicles. In addition, the company exceeded its 2004 energy efficiency target by two full points, saving approximately 20.85 trillion Btus of energy and $72 million in costs compared with the previous year.
Revenue Transparency: Chevron continued to support increased transparency of energy-related revenues.
Employee Survey: Results of Chevron’s 2004 Global Employee Survey indicated that 89 percent of employees think the company acts responsibly in relation to the environment, 86 percent think Chevron operates responsibly in society and the communities in which it operates, and 82 percent say they are treated with dignity and respect.
The full 2004 report is available at: http://www.chevron.com/cr_report.
Chevron Corporation is one of the world’s largest energy companies, with more than $142 billion in 2004 revenue and more than 53,000 employees, Chevron subsidiaries conduct business in approximately 180 countries around the world, producing and transporting crude oil and natural gas, and refining, marketing and distributing fuels and other energy products. Chevron is based in San Ramon, California.
Source: CSRwire, Chevron Corporation, Hoover's
