In the United Kingdom, Chevron seeks to build partnerships that support the economic and social fabric of the communities where we work. We sponsor projects that support education, basic human needs and enterprise development. The Energy for Learning™ program is a Chevron global initiative that encapsulates this support and is already up and running in five organizations: Community Links, Richard House Hospice, Mudchute Farm, Youth Action Northern Ireland and Action for Children.
Addressing Basic Human Needs
Community Links in east London helps thousands of children, teenagers, adults and older people in poor neighborhoods every year. It runs a network of more than 60 community projects that empower individuals and communities to help them build their own ladder out of poverty.
Chevron employees and customers have helped raise more than £1 million for Action for Children. The charity works with 140,000 of the United Kingdom's most vulnerable children, young people and their families.
Chevron also partners with Aberdeen Foyer, a charity that works to alleviate and prevent youth homelessness and unemployment, and supports Clothes Line, an initiative in which Chevron employees donate clothes for socially disadvantaged people trying to find work.
Instant Neighbour is another local charity that takes a hands-on approach to tackling poverty. At Christmas, Chevron sponsors the Giving Tree, a project that mobilizes Aberdeen's citizens, including Chevron employees, to purchase gifts for disadvantaged children in the community.
The Cyrenians, an Aberdeen charity that provides services to meet the needs of homeless people, recognized Chevron's continued support in 2012 for the company's volunteer work and food drives.
Supporting Education
Chevron has developed strategic partnerships with the University of Aberdeen and Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh as part of our University Partnership Program. The program forms relationships with universities around the world to provide scholarships, grants and departmental contributions to help build tomorrow's energy workforce.
Chevron works with programs that teach young people the skills needed for careers in the energy industry. We sponsor TechFest-SetPoint's Maths Masterclasses. In Saturday morning sessions, industry professionals and academics teach youngsters about mathematics. We also support the organization's science, technology, engineering and mathematics programs, which provide context for the subjects students learn about at school.
Chevron sponsors the Scottish Council for Development and Industry's Young Engineers Club, which is active in more than 180 Scottish schools and involves almost 3,500 pupils. Its aim is to inspire future engineers to use creative problem solving.
Chevron also works with Livewire, an organization that runs projects in schools that support curricular needs through interactive workshop sessions. Together, we have developed Safe and Sound. The program teaches safety in primary schools through drama and play. The Safety Net, the most recent campaign, encourages children to take responsibility for their own safety, measure risk, take appropriate action and stay in control when using the Internet.
Protecting the Environment
In Scotland, Chevron sponsors Focus Environment, an environmental photography competition for secondary school pupils. The competition encourages 11- to 18-year-olds to demonstrate their awareness of nature through photography. Focus Environment is a partnership between Chevron, the Scottish Wildlife Trust (SWT) and the Conservation Volunteers Scotland. It brings together business and conservation to promote environmentalism, education and the arts. The program has been running successfully for 19 years and has served as a model for similar Chevron-sponsored initiatives in Australia and Norway. In 2012, we received more than 1,400 entries for the Scottish completion.
Chevron funding helps support the SWT Spey Bay wildlife reserve, where a rare shingle beach creates a sensitive ecosystem. The SWT also received funding for a high-definition webcam at the osprey nest at the Loch of the Lowes nature reserve.
Our donations to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) have helped support a number of projects in the region, including the improvement of visitor facilities at the Sumburgh Head peninsula. Chevron works with the RSPB to help fund and support the Udale Bay bird sanctuary on the Cromarty Firth. Chevron also supports the University of Aberdeen zoology department's Cromarty Lighthouse project. As the authoritative center for research into the Moray Firth dolphin population, the project plays a key role in wildlife protection and monitoring in the area.
Updated: April 2013
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