The True Cost of Chevron: Chevron's response to the 2010 report

There's a better way to work with Chevron

Not sooner did this blogger complete his first post on the Global Exchange Report called The True Cost of Chevron, did an email pop up from Chevron containing its response to the report.

 To recap, the True Cost of Chevron is Global Exchange's comprehensive report that really presents one side of the complex oil business that Chevron's involved in and no balanced country information to give the reader a complete picture of what any American oil company faces.

This space holds that Global Exchange could have produced a more effective report if it were based on a comprehensive System Dynamics Global Model of Chevron, which in turn calls for a comprehensive understanding of its business. Such an approach would have been more able to address Chevron's future in a way that's harder to argue with than Global Exchange's current approach. An approach Chevron takes issue with; this is what the email read:

As has been the case in the past, the report is riddled with false assumptions and conclusions. The only report that accurately represents the true value of Chevron is our Corporate Responsibility Report.

In 2009, Chevron invested $144 million in communities around the world to promote basic human needs, provide education and training, and stimulate local business development. Over the last five years, Chevron has invested $500 million in communities around the world. Through Chevron Humankind, the company’s U.S. employee community involvement program, employees volunteered more than 40,000 hours in their communities and participant contributions and company matches resulted in more than $25 million to support the work of nonprofits.

Chevron is a significant supporter of small and minority-owned businesses. Chevron purchased approximately $40 billion in goods and services from suppliers and contractors, including $2.7 billion with small and medium-size businesses in the United States in 2009. Chevron also spent an additional $319 million with minority-owned business and $433 million with women-owned businesses in the United States.

Last year, Chevron adopted a human rights policy to further the company’s commitment to respecting human rights in the countries and communities where it operates. The policy addresses four human rights areas relevant to the company’s business: employees, security providers, community engagement and suppliers.

In 2009, Chevron reduced its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by approximately 2.2 million metric tons of CO2 equivalent. From 2008 to 2009, Chevron reduced GHG emissions from flaring by eight percent and advanced significant projects that will continue to reduce GHG emissions from flaring in Angola, Kazakhstan and Nigeria.

The Richmond Refinery invested over $3.4 million in community programs in 2009 ($5.65 million over the last 3 years), in: public safety - focusing on at-risk youth; improving the quality of K-12 education; and economic development with a focus on job creation.

Flaring at the Richmond Refinery was reduced by 97% between 2007 and 2008.

For the eighth consecutive year, Chevron has improved its safety performance. In 2009, the company posted its safest year on record.

The Global Exchange Report would have been more valuable with a business-related approach rather than the set of anecdotal stories it contains. Not to devalue the accounts at all as they're important to read and discuss and act on. But as is obvious by Chevron's response, the Global Exchange report has holes in it that needs to be addressed.