Social Responsibility is a core value at Hess Corporation. The company is committed to meeting the highest standards of corporate citizenship by protecting the health and safety of employees, safeguarding the environment and creating a long-lasting, positive impact in the communities where we do business.
Hess endorses the Universal Declaration on Human Rights and is an active participant in three voluntary initiatives designed to protect the environment, promote human rights and encourage financial transparency: the United Nations Global Compact, The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights and the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative. Hess is honored to have ranked 15th on Corporate Responsibility Officer's 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2009. We were also named as a Leader in Forbes Most Trustworthy Companies 2009. Most recently, Hess was listed in the Carbon Disclosure Project's Global 500 Carbon Disclosure Leadership Index.
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From offshore platforms in South Arne (above) to onshore operations around the globe, Hess has established processes and training programs to keep employees, communities and operations safe. Safety and Health In 2008, Hess Corporation achieved its best employee safety performance since the company began keeping records more than 20 years ago. Today’s employee injury rate is 60 percent lower than it was in 2002. Safety performance for the overall workforce, which includes contractors, has improved nearly 45 percent between since 2005. These results were achieved during a time of significant growth in the number and complexity of construction projects, new developments and production facilities around the world.
To keep the company’s people, communities and operations safe, Hess continually reviews its performance and processes and makes improvements based on experience. The company continues to work with contractors to ensure that the entire workforce performs to the same high standard.
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As part of the Elizabeth River Project in Chesapeake, Va., Hess planted 1,100 trees, as well as grasses and wildflowers, to naturally remove or destroy some of the contaminants in the soil left by a former wood treatment plant. Environment Hess Corporation aims to continuously improve the company’s environmental performance, managing facilities in a way that protects the resources the company shares, while meeting the world’s growing demand for reliable and affordable energy.
The company supports U.S. climate change legislation that treats all affected parties equitably and has an active corporate Climate Change Network to oversee the execution of a climate change strategy which includes:
Establishing a five-year greenhouse gas emissions intensity reduction target
Accounting for the cost of carbon in all significant future investments
Evaluating best practices that minimize emissions when designing production facilities
Reducing flaring at major operations in Algeria and Equatorial Guinea by 50 percent within five years
Implementing an energy-efficiency program companywide that increases the use of renewable resources
Purchasing at least 10 percent of annual electricity for the company’s operations from renewable sources
Offering the company’s Energy Marketing customers a full suite of products to help minimize their carbon footprints
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Human Rights Hess is committed to advancing fundamental human rights. We have developed and implemented a comprehensive human rights risk assessment to ensure that employees, contractors and suppliers understand and abide by our human rights commitments and policies.
We support the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) Rights at Work and forbid the employment of children and the use of forced or compulsory labor in all of our global operations.
We recognize and respect our employees’ right to join associations and choose representative organizations for the purpose of engaging in collective bargaining in a manner that is consistent with applicable laws, rules, regulations and customs.
Hess is committed to diversity and provides equal employment opportunity to all employees and job applicants regardless of race, color, sex, age, sexual orientation, creed, national origin or disability. The company does not tolerate any form of workplace harassment including sexual harassment of an employee or employment candidate.
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Pupils at a primary school in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea, one of 40 model schools Hess has helped establish. Community and Social Performance At Hess, we believe that a world-class company achieves both a high standard of operating performance and acts with a social conscience. The company partners with host governments, community groups and other stakeholders to develop programs that can make a measurable and sustainable difference. In 2008, Hess invested $21 million in social causes around the world. The focus of the company’s support is primarily on education (49 percent) and health care (12 percent), two areas that help determine the long-term success of any society and can be a real business constraint in many of the countries where we operate.
The centerpiece of the company’s program is a large-scale effort to transform primary education in the West African nation of Equatorial Guinea. In just two years, in partnership with the government and the Academy for Educational Development (AED), Hess has established 40 model schools and introduced accelerated course work in basic math, language and science using an active learning technique the encourages students to build critical thinking skills and learn cooperatively.
Every year since 2001, Hess has collected donations at the company’s retail locations to benefit the March of Dimes, an organization dedicated to preventing birth defects, premature birth and infant mortality. In 2009, Hess Retail raised $252,000 through customer donations — a company record that brought the funds raised for the non-profit organization over the past eight years to a total of more than $1 million. Hess’ annual fundraiser to benefit St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital continues to grow, bringing in $225,000 in customer donations made at participating Hess retail locations. The money is used to support the hospital’s groundbreaking research and lifesaving care for children battling catastrophic childhood diseases.
Hess employees across the world are encouraged to lend time, energy and expertise to community-based organizations. That tradition of giving and sharing talent is deeply rooted in the history of the company.
Hess Corporation’s support for community programs and partnerships includes social initiatives in the Americas, Europe, Southeast Asia and Africa. Company-sponsored activities range from helping victims of disasters, providing humanitarian relief, supporting education and improving community infrastructure, including roads, schools and hospitals.
Over the years the company and its people have supported numerous programs and charities. Among them:
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Health and Education in Equatorial Guinea The company began its community work in Equatorial Guinea with a program in 2001 to help control the spread of malaria, which continues to be a major health issue in West Africa. The company worked with the Lucha Contra el Paludismo (Fight Against Malaria) organization to distribute mosquito nets to the general population in the city of Bata. Although this was a temporary solution, Hess has continued to work with the government on additional malaria-prevention outreach programs.
The same year the company funded a library in Bata to give more than 7,000 children access to books.
Hess has continued its work in Equatorial Guinea through a large scale effort to transform primary education in the country. The initiative, PRODEGE (Program for Educational Development of Equatorial Guinea) is a $40 million public/private partnership led by Hess Corporation and the Government of Equatorial Guinea, and implemented by the Academy for Educational Development. In its first two years, PRODEGE has established 40 model schools and introduced accelerated course work in basic math, language and science.
Disaster Relief Assistance Hess provided disaster relief and a $5 million contribution to the Twin Towers Fund to help the families of police, firefighters and other rescue workers in the wake of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center in New York City. The company also made substantial contributions to the Houston flood relief effort in 2001, toward flood relief in Algeria and Jakarta, and to earthquake relief in Columbia. In 2005 Hess contributed $2 million to assist the disaster relief efforts in Asia after a devastating earthquake and tsunami. Of the $2 million, $1 million was contributed to Save the Children for its invaluable work in Indonesia, and $1 million was contributed to the Rachaprachanukroach Foundation, under the Royal patronage of the King, for its support of children in Thailand impacted by the tragedy. In addition, Hess matched individual employee donations to major international relief organizations.
Hess Corporation and its employees also made significant contributions to help residents of Houston and its surrounding communities in response to the destructive 2008 hurricane season. The company donated $3 million to the Greater Houston Community Foundation and a special matching gift program was created for employees making personal contributions, matching dollar-for-dollar all donations to recognized charities engaged in local relief efforts.
Education Initiatives Among the company’s many education initiatives around the world:
- Hess sponsorship of 65 students in a new school at Establ Antar, Egypt. Besides providing impoverished children with a quality education, the program also provided vocational training, uniforms, meals, books, a school bus and paid for teacher salaries.
- In the United Kingdom, through its Inner-City Education Initiative, Hess employees shared expertise in managing capital projects, tender processes and contract negotiations to help the Southwark Schools for the Future program improve courses, facilities and safety in its inner-city London neighborhood.
- In Houston, Texas, Hess developed a curriculum and teachers’ guide, Our Dynamic Earth, about the solar system and the Earth’s geology in conjunction with the Houston Chronicle. The material was used by 425 Texas elementary and middle school teachers.
- In Denmark the company sponsored a national program to improve the integrity of small lakes and ponds. More than 230 lakes have been adopted by school classes that work with environmental scientists to study and presser these environments.
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Building schools in St. Lucia In 1980 a fund was established to rebuild schools in St. Lucia after Hurricane Allen devastated the island’s infrastructure. After initial repairs were made to the local schools, the fund was used for longer-term school rebuilding and construction needs. Over the next 20 years, 75 schools were repaired or rebuilt with these funds and four new schools were constructed. More than 30,000 children are enrolled in these schools.
Teacher Fellowships in the U.K. Partnering with Earthwatch in the U.K., Hess created 30 fellowships to enable secondary school teachers to take part in environmental research projects and take their learning back into the classrooms and local communities.
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