In many countries and communities where we operate, social issues are part of a broader set of varied and complex socioeconomic and security concerns. Our programs engage communities and individuals, empowering them to promote sustainability and helping deliver long-term socioeconomic benefits. The programs described in this section have touched millions of lives and demonstrate Chevron's commitment to being the partner of choice.

Chevron's programs are anchored in partnerships with governments, communities, local and international nongovernmental organizations, and development agencies. We have built a number of partnerships on trust, transparency, mutual learning and a common purpose to promote human progress and economic development. We address social issues by working together and delivering results "on the ground."

Our community engagement programs enhance our ability to conduct business in many parts of the world. In 2008, we invested $160 million in our community engagement initiatives, with 50 percent in North America; 22 percent in Africa; 14 percent in Asia-Pacific; 9 percent in Eurasia, Europe and the Middle East; and 5 percent in Latin America. Most was invested in our three primary focus areas — improving access to basic human needs, enabling education and training opportunities, and promoting sustainable livelihoods.

Access to Basic Human Needs

Health care, nutrition, water, sanitation, agriculture and disaster response provide a foundation for economic development activities. We use several programs to promote access to basic human needs, such as our partnership with North Star Foundation, an international agency establishing a network of roadside health clinics at major truck stops and border crossings in Africa and Asia. With North Star, Chevron established an HIV/AIDS Roadside Wellness Center at the heavily trafficked Oshoek border post between Swaziland and South Africa in 2007. As with other center locations, Oshoek was identified as a "hot spot" where significant numbers of truckers congregate and where sex work and other informal trades flourish. In 2008, the center provided HIV/AIDS prevention education, distributed condoms, and offered basic medical tests and services to 4,500 drivers and people from surrounding communities. North Star measures its progress annually against baseline surveys. In five years, it has seen an average annual reduction in sexually transmitted infections of 17 percent among drivers, workers and community members.

Global Fund

As the first Corporate Champion of The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria — a public-private partnership created by the United Nations — Chevron is leveraging funds as well as medical and business expertise from around the globe to help control and eradicate these diseases. Many of Chevron's approximately 120 physicians and 600 health care workers are supporting in-country implementation of Global Fund programs.

The health of our employees and the communities where we operate is critical to achieving business results. So helping eradicate AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria not only supports communities, it aligns with Chevron's long-term business interests as well.

Chevron made a three-year, $30 million commitment and is allocating $5 million each to Global Fund grant recipients in Indonesia, Thailand, Angola, South Africa, Nigeria and the Philippines, countries with high rates of these diseases.

Tuberculosis is the sixth-greatest cause of mortality in the Philippines, posing a significant threat to the country's people and the economy. In October, we launched a partnership with the Tropical Disease Foundation to support tuberculosis treatment and prevention. The partnership includes an awareness campaign for employees, and education, testing and referral services at terminals and Caltex service stations for customers and drivers in greater Manila and some other cities.

We are partnering with the Western Cape Provincial Health Department in South Africa, supporting the province's goal: by 2011, reduce new HIV infections by 50 percent and expand access to treatment, care and support to 80 percent of people diagnosed with HIV. Chevron's contribution will help provide home-based care and expand a peer youth-education program on prevention. At Caltex stations on the Western Cape, Chevron will help build awareness of current prevention and treatment programs.

Other Global Fund partnerships are expected to be launched in 2009.

Education and Training

Chevron supports kindergarten to grade 12, vocational, college and adult education to help children and adults acquire the skills needed to compete in a more global economy. In 2008, Chevron and partners opened the Saudi Petroleum Services Polytechnic Institute in Dammam, Saudi Arabia, to prepare high school graduates to work in the oil and gas industry. The polytechnic will provide training in petroleum industry core competencies, such as health, the environment and safety; math; science; and information technology.

Technical Training in the Philippines

Chevron Geothermal Philippines Holdings, Inc., is partnering with local governments and the Consuelo Foundation, a nongovernmental organization, to help out-of-school youth acquire the skills they need to find employment either in local job markets or through self-employment. The program, which trained 150 youth in welding, electronics and small engine repair in 2008, has completion rates between 74 and 95 percent and employment rates of 84 percent or higher.

Building Communities of Learning in Africa and South America

Since 2003, Chevron has partnered with the Discovery Channel Global Education Partnership to support the creation of 55 Learning Centers in Angola, Venezuela, South Africa and Nigeria. The partnership brings educational video programming and teacher training to underserved primary schools. Study results indicate that schools equipped with Learning Centers show an increase in student learning, teacher effectiveness and community access to information. In the eight Nigerian centers, for example, parents and teachers note a reduction in lateness and truancy among students and an increase in enrollment by as much as 50 percent. The centers also become hubs for adults in the community, providing information on topics ranging from HIV/AIDS to vocational training. We have contributed more than $3.6 million to date. In 2009, we are expanding our partnership by committing $1.5 million to establish additional Learning Centers in South Africa and, for the first time, in Brazil. During our five-year partnership, 1,900 teachers, 89,000 students and 240,000 community members benefited. View videos at Chevron.com/LearningCenters.

Energy for LearningTM on the U.S. Gulf Coast

In 2006, Chevron launched Energy for LearningTM, a three-year, $18 million initiative to support public education in school districts affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Working with education officials in Mississippi and Louisiana, we developed the program to address the priorities of 23 districts.

School districts used their Chevron grants to jump-start recovery by providing interactive whiteboards for classrooms, science equipment, computers, books and other supplies. Funding also supported teacher training and leadership programs, the creation of an international baccalaureate program, and the establishment of two preschools in Mississippi. Approximately 50,000 students, teachers and administrators were direct beneficiaries.

In the fall of 2008, as Energy for LearningTM entered its final year of implementation, we undertook a third-party evaluation to measure successes and lessons learned. The evaluation included interviews with more than 250 students, teachers, parents and partners. It concluded that the initiative engaged and excited students, gave teachers new skills and tools, spurred innovation, and enhanced the image of schools as safe and positive places of learning.

Grant recipients stated that the funding not only supported rebuilding efforts, it also helped "leapfrog" their schools into world-class learning facilities; empowered students, teachers and parents; and restored hope for a bright future for the children, their families and communities.

The evaluation identified areas for improvement — measuring program results, increasing communication, and further including stakeholders — that we will bring to future community programs.

Sustainable Livelihoods: Micro and Small Enterprises

Access to markets and credit is essential for micro and small enterprise development. Chevron, together with international investment partners, established NovoBanco in 2004 as part of our Angola Partnership Initiative, with the primary objective of enhancing the local economic base of Angola. NovoBanco is a microfinance institution that provides access to finance to small entrepreneurs and low-income households, segments of the market previously underserved. It has expanded to three branches with 31,207 clients and $27 million in net assets. In 2008 alone, it gave more than $10 million in loans to help Angolan entrepreneurs. NovoBanco plans to expand its operations by adding 11 new branches.

One of NovoBanco's model clients is Ana Coumba, the owner of Organizações Sandeleji, a small company she founded 15 years ago with her husband after seeing a business opportunity in baking bread and selling it to her neighbors.

"The following day, after the opening of the bakery," says Coumba, "I had many of them knocking at my door asking for bread to buy. I realized that there was a chance for going forward with this business idea."

After carefully assessing the market, Coumba approached NovoBanco in 2004 to get a credit to launch the business. She has since been granted three loans totaling $80,000.

"This was exactly the kind of help I needed to really develop my business," she says. Loans allowed her to purchase an oven, other key equipment, raw materials and fuel to expand the business. Organizações Sandeleji got a contract with a major supermarket in Luanda and has become the market's primary cookie supplier.

Coumba says she is making a profit of $60,000 to $70,000 a year, allowing her to send her kids to school, contribute to the family's well-being and expand the business. With the demand for bakery products booming, Coumba is planning to open a new branch. She initially had two people working with her. "Today, I have 28 employees on the payroll," she says. "No way would I have achieved this success without the help from NovoBanco."

Chevron Humankind

In 2008, Chevron introduced a new community involvement program that replaced four existing programs for U.S.-based employees and retirees. Called "Chevron Humankind," the program complements our global community investments and builds on the company's belief that meaningful partnerships can help improve our communities. It includes company matching of participants' financial contributions to U.S.-based nonprofit organizations, grants for volunteer time, and companysponsored volunteer programs. In 2008, U.S. employees and retirees recorded more than 110,000 hours of volunteering through Humankind, and program participants and the company contributed $20 million to advance the work of nonprofit organizations.

Employee Volunteers: Responding to Hurricanes on the Gulf Coast

In 2008, Chevron employees helped their communities recover from disasters. Employees at Chevron's lubricants plant in Port Arthur, Texas, pitched in to help those affected by storm damage when flooding caused by Hurricane Ike temporarily shut down the facility. Coordinating efforts with local authorities, rotating teams of volunteer employees assisted elderly homeowners and others not able to help themselves. Over two months, the employees supported 53 households, clearing downed trees, installing temporary roofing, and removing carpeting, flooring and other items in floodwater-damaged homes.

Chevron committed $3 million to support recovery efforts in communities affected by Hurricanes Gustav, Hanna and Ike on the U.S. Gulf Coast and in the Caribbean. We contributed to the American Red Cross, Save the Children, Feeding America (formerly America's Second Harvest) and the Pan American Development Foundation. Our funding was directed toward meeting basic needs for thousands of displaced residents, providing food, water, medical equipment, temporary roofing materials, portable generators, diapers and other necessities. We gave gasoline cards to volunteers on emergency response teams.

Updated: May 2009