As a commercial enterprise, we have a responsibility to deliver strong financial performance, thus creating value for our stockholders. At the same time, we recognize that we can, and should, create broader economic value for our stakeholders and that we do so in a variety of ways.

In this section, we focus on the issue of procurement and, in particular, our supplier diversity, small business development and local content programs. In 2003, we spent approximately US$18 billion globally on goods and services from external contractors and suppliers. On a local level, contracting with small, locally owned businesses and, in the United States, minority- and women-owned businesses, is one of the important ways we can contribute to the economic development of the communities in which we operate.