Oil & Gas Company Social Responsibility - Societal Role of Business and Social Responsibility

Societal Role of Business and Social Responsibility

Oil & Gas Company Social Responsibility

In today’s world it is no longer enough for a corporation to serve customers, employees, and shareholders. It is the responsibility and duty of a corporation to serve the communities where they do business and enhance competitiveness of the company while simultaneously advancing social and economic conditions. This concept is called corporate social responsibility. CSR is a process with the aim to embrace responsibility for the company's actions and encourage a positive impact through its activities on the environment, consumers, employees, communities, stakeholders and all other members. Everywhere you look today you will see most big company have a team that dedicate exclusively to corporate social responsibility. Companies Corporate Social Responsibility can be easily seen on their websites. A formal statement or code of ethics summarizes corporate values, and expectations for many companies.

The societal expectations on corporate social responsibility of businesses are increasing drastically. Corporate sector has been under pressure to implement environmentally responsible practices. Oil and Gas is top among those sectors. There have been a lot of concerns regarding the use of Hydraulic Fracking in the industry. Some of the concerns are that chemical could potentially leak into the water aquifer and contaminate the water sources. Another concern is the disposal of fracture fluid by reinjection it into sub-surface disposal wells has the potential to cause earthquakes. While it’s true that fracking may cause earthquake. They are so small (micro earthquake) that they are rarely felt and can’t cause any structural damage. USGS’s studies suggest that the actual hydraulic fracturing process is only very rarely the direct cause of felt earthquakes. Though some scientists believed it was possible for fracking to contaminate underground water supplies, those risks have been considered secondary. To address these concerns from the communities, Oil & Gas industries have poured millions of dollar in to research to diminish the impact of their footprint on the environment. Statoil a Norwegian base company spends $30 million a year for research and development on increasing oil sands efficiency and reducing pollution. Chevron partnered with the Cawelo Water District to treat and distribute local farmer with much-needed water for agricultural use.

In the Globalization Era, companies focus on the sustainability of a business. It centers on a balance of society, economy and environment for current and future health. For a global company, the issue of corporate social responsibility becomes much more complicated. These global companies have to learn to adapt to a different environment, cultural and values. Corporate Social Responsibility challenges