Corporate Community Responsibility: A Vision Of Partnership
Authors: Kupfer George 
Published: March 2010

The author presents a case for closer corporate-community involvement in terms of oil and gas development in the 1990s. He states that people will demand more and better project information; more participation in selected decisions such as sting, access, emergency planning, pollution control, local benefits; more information on environmental/social impacts and the mitigation of negative ones; more documentation about the need for a project; a wider discussion of compensation issues; and more of a role in monitoring project operations and in planning for their termination. The author presents a model of corporate community partnership to address these trends.

Introduction

This paper grows out of the work of the author's recent experiences in working with oil and gas companies, government departments and a variety of smaller to medium-sized communities. Specifically, this work has involved sour gas, heavy oil and tar sands exploration and development in Alberta; oil and gas exploration and northern benefits in the Mackenzie District of the Northwest Territories. The author's role centred on designing and carrying out community relations activities to bring government, companies, communities, and individuals into a better understanding of each other and into a better working relationship around projects. Since 1980 the author's work has taken place in the Alberta communities of Pincher Creek, Hinton, Mulhurst and a number of Pigeon Lake summer villages, Bearberry, Sundre, the Elizabeth Metis Settlement, Hythe, Fort McMurray, Fort McKay, Fort Chipewyan, Red Earth, and Grande CentreCold Lake; and the Northwest Territories communities of Inuvik, Tuktoyaktuk, Fort Norman, Norman Wells, Fort Simpson and Yellowknife.

Corporate clients have included Canadian Superior Oil Ltd. (now Mobil Oil Canada Ltd.), Shell Canada Limited, Esso Resources Canada Limited, Diamond Shamrock (now Maxus Energy Canada Ltd.), Norcen Energy Resources Limited, Forest Oil Corporation, Amoco Canada Petroleum Company Ltd. Gulf Canada Resources Limited, and Canstar (Petro-Canada/Nova). Government clients have included The Northern Alberta Development Council, The Energy Resources Conservation Board, Alberta Environment, and Energy, Mines and Resources Secretariat, Northwest Territories.

Community Relations Basic Assumptions

The author's approach is based on several assumptions about the rights and obligations of the various participants in any oil and gas development. These assumptions include:people affected by a project need to know about and understand it;people need to have timely, quality information in a form usable to them;people need to have a way of expressing their questions and concerns relative to a project;people need to have a way to share their knowledge and experience with each other and the project developer;people need to be consulted and involved in same of the details involved in project decision-making;people need to have manageable recourse for damages or for ocher disputes;people need to be prOlectcd from any negative effects of project and to understand and participate in thm protection;people need their environment protected and sensitlvely urilized;people need to accept the responsibili[y for becoming informed and in responding to project-related issues and questions; andopportunities to participate need to be provided by all panies.