Stakeholder Engagement
Listening to and working with our stakeholders in a constructive manner informs our decision making. Our vision is to earn the admiration of our stakeholders not only for the goals we achieve but how we achieve them. In 2006, we took a number of steps to further integrate stakeholder engagement into our business processes and management systems.
ESHIA
Engaging with stakeholders is important for identifying and responding to issues that have the potential to affect communities and our operating environment. Our Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) process is a strategic tool to manage issues that arise and foster local support for our operations. This scaleable process requires capital projects to be evaluated for potential environmental, social and health impacts, and appropriate mitigation measures to be developed. ESHIA is used to anticipate and plan the manner in which impacts are mitigated and benefits enhanced during the planning, construction, operation and decommissioning of a project. ESHIA was adopted for deployment as a corporate standard in January 2007.
Engaging with community members, local officials, nongovernmental organizations and others early and often throughout the life span of a project is central to the ESHIA process. We engage with stakeholders as part of the process to:
- Identify the most significant impacts of a project and their relative importance.
- Identify potential stakeholders to assist in the design and implementation of mitigation strategies.
- Build constructive and harmonious long-term relationships with neighbors and other stakeholders.
To read more about how stakeholder engagement contributes to all phases of the ESHIA process, please see our Angola Case Study.
Stockholder Proposals
Chevron received nine stockholder proposals for the 2007 proxy season. We engaged with proponents of seven of the proposals and came to mutual agreements that led to the withdrawal of two. The first proposal was to report on political contributions and the second would eliminate supermajority voting provisions in our certificate of incorporation. Proposals not withdrawn will be put to a stockholder vote at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders in April 2007.
Raising Awareness of Global Energy Issues
Willyoujoinus.com continues to raise awareness of and provide a forum to discuss global energy issues. By 2006, people from 190 countries had visited the site to contribute their viewpoints on topics ranging from energy interdependence to the role of nuclear power. A site study conducted in early 2006 showed that 78 percent of visitors say the site is "excellent" or "good," and 69 percent say they are more informed about energy issues as a result of visiting the site. At the end of each debate, the Aspen Institute, an international nonprofit organization that supports open-minded dialogue, provides a discussion analysis for the online community and visitors to the site.