Whether it is for public relations purposes, government
penalty, or out of a genuine concern for the environment, corporations
contribute to causes that aim to preserve the environment. There are
several ways in which corporations make these contributions. Corporate
donations of profits towards various environmental causes is perhaps
the easiest to understand, but there are others as well. In some cases,
corporations form partnerships with citizen environmental organizations,
contributing materials and funds to the work of these organizations.
Also, corporations can participate in programs within their industry
to strive towards more responsible corporate behavior, in conjunction
with other corporations. Examples of each of these types of environmentally-focused
corporate activities have occurred in Louisiana, each of which I will
As is the case with many oil companies, Royal
Dutch/Shell Energy has devoted a section of its website to discussing
the importance of the environment to the business it conducts. Among
the points of interest on the site, Shell has a section on the environment
and society, which includes information on how it has worked towards
sustainable development, policies and standards it uses in regard
to the environment, and records of how it is performing in conjunction
with the environment (22).
This information relates to the public how Shell plans to carry out
responsibility, including the various actions it chooses to take.
For example, Shell has shown activity recently in Louisiana in partnership
with the America’s
Wetlands: Campaign to Save Coastal Louisiana program, providing
funds to the program on two occasions. In August 2002, Shell donated
$3 million to America’s Wetlands’ educational fund (7),
and it also donated $800,000 in 2004 to the program for educational
materials distribution (3).
The America’s Wetlands program raises awareness on the significance,
both economically and ecologically, of the Louisiana coast (7).
Though speculations may abound over the motives for these contributions,
as to whether the materials absolve oil companies from responsibility,
the willingness of Shell to contribute to awareness of environmental
problems, consistent with its corporate policy, should be seen as
a step in the right direction.
a website that has a video called "Don't Be a Big Loser", chronicling
the problem of land loss in Louisiana. It was made by America's Wetland.
Take a look to see the type of education materials
environmental groups are producing.
America'sWetland logo comes from:
Perhaps in an effort to make public its efforts of corporate responsibility,
Exxon Mobil publishes
its corporate donations, and includes them on its website.
In a recent year, 2003, Exxon Mobil donated $106
in contributions, with 72.6 million going to recipients in
the United States. Unfortunately, donations to the “Environment” category
were the lowest of the categories in both cases, with $1.2
of total) going towards this section in the United States,
and $4 million (4% of total) going towards this section throughout
1 and 2 for comparison).
Some of the environmental causes in Louisiana that Exxon Mobil donated
to included the Baton Rouge Area Foundation,
for Summits for America’s Wetland; the Grand
Isle Port Commission for the Grand Isle Butterfly Dome; the Nature
Conservancy, Inc. of Baton Rouge; the St. Bernard Wetlands Foundation
in Meraux, LA for a fish nursery, and finally a donation to the
State of Louisiana for conservation of Catahoula Lake. Outside
of Louisiana, Exxon has donated to several universities for scientific
research, various natural groups and trusts, and organizations looking
to protect endangered species (5).
Though these efforts to donate to environmental causes are on the
low end of the donations, they represent a starting point, towards
what may one day be greater donations by Exxon towards preserving
ELP Logo comes from:
The third possible plan of action for corporations who seek to improve
the environment is commitments within an industry towards a common
goal. In some cases, this is a voluntary agreement, such as the
Louisiana Environmental Leadership Pollution Prevention Program.
This program is designed for industries in Louisiana to apply and
agree to reduce the level of pollution they produce, in a show of
responsibility to the environment. The guiding principles include
reducing waste through following the waste hierarchy, using internal
measures to regulate and improve environmental performance, communication
with people associated with the company to identify areas where the
corporation can improve its interaction with the environment, and
prioritizing human and environmental health (13).
Louisiana has had several oil companies, both large and small, participate
in this program: Chevron, CITGO,
Exxon Mobil (4 different facilities), Motiva,
Shell (2 different facilities) and Tosco Refining (12).
That so many different oil companies are interested in working towards
lower pollution displays what hopefully will become a larger trend:
corporate responsibility within industries that is not forced by the
hand of government.