We're committed to helping meet the world's demand for energy while taking steps to protect the environment. We believe that it's the right thing to do and that it's critical to our success in a world in which energy sources should be developed in an environment that's clean, safe and healthy.
That's why we are continually improving our processes to minimize pollution and waste, conserve natural resources, and reduce potentially negative environmental impacts of our activities and operations.
Respecting Biodiversity
Our care for the environment is based on an appreciation for the complexity of the natural world. We recognize the importance of conserving biological diversity — the rich variety of life on Earth: its ecosystems, species and genes and the ecological processes that support them.
Chevron adopted an updated Corporate Biodiversity Statement in 2007. We now require that teams incorporate biodiversity assessments when evaluating capital projects as part of our Environmental, Social and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) process. In addition, we provided guidance to business units and operating companies on incorporating biodiversity considerations into our corporate Risk Management and Property Transfer processes. We established the Chevron Biodiversity Network to share and enhance best practices for biodiversity conservation and to identify new opportunities and emerging issues relevant to Chevron operations.
Contributing to Environmental Protection
Wherever we operate, we support diverse programs that help to protect the environment.
Our Operational Excellence Management System is our framework for achieving world-class environmental performance. We use the process to systematically manage safety, health, the environment, reliability and efficiency.
Our ESHIA process, deployed as a corporate process in early 2007, requires that all new capital projects be evaluated for potential environmental, social and health impacts. ESHIA is used to anticipate and plan the manner in which significant impacts are mitigated and benefits are enhanced during the planning, construction, operation and decommissioning of a project. Stakeholder engagement is central to the ESHIA process throughout the life of a project.
By early 2008, ESHIA was being applied to nearly 20 capital projects worldwide, including the Piceance Basin project in western Colorado.
We have a long track record of protecting the environment. Our contributions to the Nature Conservancy in Canada helped enable the purchase of 320 acres at Coyote Lake, which in turn helped protect the diminishing natural habitat in one of Alberta's richest biological areas.
We have been recognized on numerous occasions for our environmental initiatives. In 2006, Chevron was honored for the fourth consecutive year with Indonesia's Most Admired Company award. The award cited our outstanding record of implementing independent environmental audits of our operations and ensuring that revegetation is an integral part of any oil development project. Also in 2006, Chevron was singled out by the Environmental Health Officers Registration Council of Nigeria for our "commitment to responsible environmental stewardship."
We strive to continually improve our efficiency by getting more output from each unit of energy we use. We operate in ways that limit or avoid contributing to adverse environmental impacts, and we encourage consumers to use our products more efficiently. In doing so, we contribute to meeting the world's demand for energy while minimizing our total environmental footprint.
Updated: May 2008