Chevron is committed to improving social, environmental and economic conditions where we operate. Our focus on sustainable employment opportunities promotes self-sufficiency. With partners, we identify programs to promote a better standard of living and create a more stable operating environment.
Promoting Small Enterprise
Small and medium-size businesses are the engines that drive economic growth in any community. Helping develop these businesses contributes to the overall prosperity of the communities where we work. We help lift entrepreneurs by offering business development services, supporting business incubator programs, and providing access to credit and markets.
In Bangladesh, where many area residents were impacted by land acquisition related to development of the Bibiyana and Moulavi Bazar gas fields, an Alternative Livelihood program developed with a nongovernmental organization assisted more than 6,000 families with training and assets to help them start new businesses. Ojud Miah, who lives in a village near Chevron's Bibiyana Field, received the help he needed to rebuild his duck hatchery after the devastating cyclone in 2004. He now raises 1,800 ducks and employs several other villagers.
Through our support of local artisans, Chevron is helping to create sustainable livelihoods for craftspeople from Colombia to Kazakhstan. Among the Wayuu people of La Guajira, Colombia, Chevron's support has grown to include 500 women from 30 communities. Through programs we help fund, they receive material and marketing support to sell their hand-crafted bags, blankets and hammocks in European markets. "We are not only contributing to the conservation of our heritage, but strengthening our culture and our livelihoods," said one Wayuu artisan.
In the United States, Chevron supports economic development and job creation through partnerships with Grameen America, Kiva.org and Opportunity Fund. With our support, these innovative microfinance organizations are able to attract more lenders and increase resources for entrepreneurs and small businesses around the world.
Empowering Women
Many of Chevron's economic development projects focus on improving the lives of women by promoting equality and economic empowerment for women. We partner with local nonprofits and nongovernmental organizations to provide microloans, financial education and job training. We believe when women are empowered, whole families see the benefits, and we think those benefits can have positive effects upon future generations.
In Brazil, Chevron has contributed more than $510,000 to a variety of programs for disadvantaged women in Rio de Janiero and Itapemirim. The programs provide business development assistance, construction skills training, management and professional training, and job placement. In 2011, our investment helped 10 women open a restaurant called Saborearte. The members of the group received about 120 hours of business training over six months, as well as lessons in women's rights and conflict resolution. "With the Saborearte launch, I feel like another women—stronger and more cognizant of my role as an agent to transform my reality and the lives of those around me," said Jacqueline James, Saborearte's chef.
In the United States, since 2004, Chevron has helped hundreds of women achieve self-sufficiency through the Women's Initiative for Self Employment. The San Francisco-based organization provides training, resources and support for local women entrepreneurs.
Chevron also partners with the Association of Business Women of Kazakhstan and local government agencies to address high rates of unemployment and poverty among women in Astana and Almaty. Since the launch of the project in 2009, 1,500 women have been retrained. Among the participants, about 70 percent found work and another 5 percent started their own businesses.
In Vietnam, Chevron partners with Save the Children to sponsor an economic empowerment project for women in the Mekong Delta. The program is designed to increase income and improve livelihoods for women by providing financial training and issuing microloans. More than 600 women benefited from the program in 2010, including Nguyen Thi Le. She borrowed $57 to purchase food for sale and pigs for breeding, helping to increase her family's income from $60 per month to more than $100. "Thanks to the program, I am able to diversify my food business and generate more income," Le said.
Updated: April 2012