Chevron Highlights Significant Contributions to Richmond in Latest CR Report

RICHMOND, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Chevron recently announced the publication of its 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report that includes specific examples of the company’s community engagement activities around the world. For this year, the report included information on its activities in the City of Richmond, California, including water recycling efforts, STEM programs and air emissions reductions.

“We do this by supporting nonprofits that offer innovative approaches to enhance education, foster economic development and improve vocational training.”

The Chevron Richmond Refinery has initiated a broad-based effort to better listen to and engage with its neighboring communities and stakeholders, including concerns over health and emissions. To reduce air emissions, Chevron installed new technologies and ran plants more efficiently, reducing air emissions by 70 percent since the 1970s. A refinery-wide flare-minimization program that began in 2007 has helped decrease flaring by more than 97 percent. As the region’s largest refinery, the Richmond Refinery represents approximately 38 percent of oil refining capacity in the Bay Area but less than one percent of the volume of vented gas flared in 2009.

Across the company, Chevron follows an environmental stewardship process that provides a consistent, systematic, risk-based approach to managing aspects of the environment, including air, water, biodiversity and waste. As part of that effort, Chevron completed its Richmond Advanced Recycled (RARE) Water Project last year to treat 3.5 million gallons of municipal wastewater each day for the refinery’s steam-producing boilers. The refinery uses an additional 4 million gallons of reclaimed water for the refining process as part of the 11 million gallon-per-day operation.

“Our efforts to reduce emissions and increase water efficiency in Richmond illustrate our continued commitment of striving to improve our operations and the environment around us,” said Richmond refinery general manager Mike Coyle.

In addition, Chevron responded to stakeholder interest in supporting community programs by contributing $3.7 million toward education, youth leadership programs, economic development and job training programs in West Contra Costa County, where unemployment rates remain higher than the national average. Chevron’s participation with the Stride Center provided a $211,000 grant in 2009 to create a job-training program in the community. Chevron’s investments in STEM education in 2010 reached more than 245,000 students and 3,900 teachers in California.

“Helping to support local educational and economic programs in areas near our operation promotes a better standard of living and better links us with both our community and our local businesses,” said Steve Green, vice president, Policy, Government and Public Affairs at Chevron. “We understand that California will never maintain its leadership without world-class education, and that our company cannot maintain its leadership without a world-class, well-educated work force.”

“Chevron is committed to improving education and economic development in California, which we believe is the cornerstone of our state’s competitiveness,” added Green. “We do this by supporting nonprofits that offer innovative approaches to enhance education, foster economic development and improve vocational training.”

“We recognize that business success is deeply linked to society’s progress,” said Chairman and Chief Executive Officer John Watson. “Our investments in communities – developed in partnership with those communities – also are investments in the long-term success of our company.”

Chevron’s ninth annual Corporate Responsibility Report demonstrates Chevron’s focus on creating mutual benefit and shared progress in seven geographic areas where some of its most important projects are located. The company also achieved its safest year in company history, reduced its total energy consumption by 33 percent compared with 1992 levels, and invested $197 million in communities around the world, according to the company's 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report issued today.

“Energy is essential to human progress – it creates jobs, fuels innovation and powers virtually every element of the global economy,” added Watson. “Providing that energy safely, reliably and economically is a great responsibility that we take seriously.”

For more information read the full 2010 Corporate Responsibility Report at www.chevron.com/corporateresponsibility.

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, with subsidiaries that conduct business worldwide. The company is involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron explores for, produces and transports crude oil and natural gas; refines, markets and distributes transportation fuels and lubricants; manufactures and sells petrochemical products; generates power and produces geothermal energy; provides energy efficiency solutions; and develops the energy resources of the future, including biofuels. Chevron is based in San Ramon, Calif. More information about Chevron is available at www.chevron.com.