Oxy has a companywide commitment to operate in an ethical and responsible manner. We strive to ensure employee safety, respect human rights, safeguard the environment and promote positive, mutually beneficial outcomes in each of our business locations around the world.
In fulfilling our social responsibility commitment, Oxy is guided by a number of key corporate policies, practices and standards, including our Human Rights Policy, Code of Business Conduct and Health, Environment and Safety Management System (HESMS).
The cornerstone of our social responsibility program is the Human Rights Policy, which reinforces Oxy’s commitment to the promotion of human rights for employees, contractors and neighbors of our operations. Provisions of the Policy, established in 2004, cover four main areas.
Stakeholder Dialogue and Awareness
Oxy engages proactively with stakeholders — including neighbors, local governments, customers and partners — and seeks to be attentive to their concerns. Such communications assist in gauging the effectiveness of company policies and business practices.
Assessment of risks and Opportunities
Prior to the start of work in new international locations, assessments are conducted to determine the social and economic effects, opportunities and risks potentially associated with Oxy’s operations. Assessment results are helpful in identifying local issues and designing mutually beneficial programs to address them.
Contractors and Suppliers
Oxy has an expressed preference for contractors and suppliers who share our social responsibility values, and requires these key stakeholders to meet the company’s expectations with respect to training, compliance and other relevant matters.
Training
Human rights training is provided to employees at, or engaged with, Oxy’s international operations, and is mandatory for security employees and contractors; contractors also are required to provide training for their own employees, as warranted. Oxy officers and managers are responsible for ensuring that all employees are familiar with the Human Rights Policy.
Oxy’s commitment to sound business practices, policies and procedures is reinforced by the Code of Business Conduct, which governs all corporate activities and is applicable to all Oxy employees, officers and directors. In many instances the Code is more stringent than analogous laws and regulations. Translated into Arabic and Spanish for use in our international operations, the Code sets forth company policies regarding business relationships, equal opportunity, securities trading, conflicts of interest, protecting company property and other important areas.
Oxy has a number of procedures in place, including an anonymous and independently operated compliance line, to facilitate reporting by employees, contractors or others of any complaint or inquiry regarding compliance with company policies. Compliance Officers investigate all credible allegations of policy violations.
The formal HESMS is embedded into Oxy’s operational processes worldwide. Dedicated to ensuring a safe and healthy workplace and responsible environmental stewardship, its robust programs promote continuous performance improvement by encouraging individual responsibility, quantifiable results and communication about progress. System performance is routinely reviewed and verified through audits, evaluations and other quality-assurance and quality-control methods.
Because this broadly used management tool encompasses business planning, stakeholder engagement, risk assessment, training and performance evaluations, the HESMS has proven to be an ideal vehicle for integrating social responsibility into the companywide enterprise. Since launching this unified approach in 2006, Oxy has continuously worked to increase awareness, dialogue, consistency and accountability in regard to the Human Rights Policy and other social responsibility issues.
OxyChem has tailored its HESMS to incorporate the elements of the American Chemistry Council (ACC) Responsible Care® initiative. The Responsible Care program includes a set of HES metrics, many of which are more stringent than corresponding government requirements. OxyChem plants also regularly participate in community advisory panels to discuss HES improvements, performance and other information of interest.