Rodolfo Segovia
Member of the Board of Directors; Chair of the Environmental, Health and Safety Committee; and a member of the following four committees: Executive Compensation and Human Resources; Corporate Governance, Nominating and Social Responsibility; Charitable Contributions; and Finance and Risk Management.
Director Rodolfo Segovia's perspectives on health, environment and safety management at Oxy
How has Oxy's approach to HES management evolved?
Oxy's Environmental, Health and Safety Committee of the Board of Directors has been in place for three decades, reflecting the Board's recognition of the critical role HES management plays in the company's success. The Committee directs and oversees Oxy's commitment to safeguard the environment and protect the safety and health of employees and neighboring communities throughout its worldwide operations.
The Committee promotes an HES Management System (HESMS) that is embedded into business decision making, from day-to-day operations to major capital expenditures. This approach has facilitated Oxy's development of innovative corporate HES risk management and auditing programs now widely adopted across the oil and gas and chemical industries. The Committee and Oxy's management routinely review the effectiveness and efficiency of the HESMS, including remediation programs, to identify opportunities for continuous improvement. For example, the Committee endorsed Oxy's voluntary public reporting of greenhouse gas emissions estimates starting in 2001 and its integration of security and social responsibility directly into the HESMS in 2006.
How is the focus on continuous improvement reflected in Oxy's HES performance?
Oxy's strong safety culture is a reflection of its business culture and of how the company views itself. Empowerment on HES issues reaches, with rewards for performance, every level at Oxy. The Committee and management authorize and expect employees to stop activities or operations if they have safety or environmental concerns.
Oxy is among the safest companies in the oil and gas and chemical industries. This companywide focus on safety and diligent identification and control of potential risks has reduced Oxy's employee Injury and Illness Incidence Rate (IIR) by half since 2000, to 0.41 in 2009. Fifteen years ago, the Committee expanded its safety focus to Oxy's contractors with comparable success. Oxy's contractor IIR declined to a new record of 0.67 in 2009, a 60-percent improvement since 2000. It is gratifying to achieve these results while posting the company's highest ever oil and gas production volumes. Oxy believes and demonstrates that exceptional HES performance and business success go together.
Describe some of the environmental programs the Committee has promoted at Oxy.
The Committee earnestly emphasizes measures that reduce emissions, mitigate risks and maintain compliance with the stringent environmental laws and regulations that apply to Oxy's operations. An example from the chemical business is OxyChem's elimination of mercury from its North American chlor- alkali manufacturing facilities.
Similarly, Oxy's oil and gas business has ongoing programs to capture, for beneficial use, natural gas (methane) and CO2 that would traditionally have been flared or emitted into the atmosphere. Oxy's actions to reduce flaring of natural gas have been repeatedly recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Natural Gas STAR and Methane to Markets programs. Oxy is also pursuing innovative projects to capture CO2 from gas processing plants and other industrial sources before it is emitted into the atmosphere and instead inject the CO2 safely underground in enhanced oil recovery (EOR) operations. Oxy's outreach efforts with environmental groups and other stakeholders have helped to underscore EOR's important role in validating long-term underground storage of CO2 as a means to reduce future greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
Throughout its worldwide operations, Oxy has expanded mechanical integrity, pollution prevention and habitat conservation programs, focusing particularly on recently acquired assets. The Committee was also instrumental in consolidating environmental remediation for which the company is responsible with Glenn Springs Holdings, Inc., a wholly owned Oxy subsidiary. Glenn Springs has restored many sites – to great acclaim - and continues to implement remedial plans which the Committee reviews.
How does Oxy engage with investors on HES issues?
Oxy values input from our stockholders. Management and Board members meet informally with groups of investors to listen to what they have to say about Oxy's corporate governance and a wide range of HES topics, such as GHG emissions. We find the informal stockholder meetings very informative and constructive, and have received positive feedback from investors who appreciate the candid exchanges and the fact that the Committee closely monitors scientific and policy discussions about HES issues.
Oxy's annual Social Responsibility Report evolved from a suggestion by investors. The company has expanded the Social Responsibility Report – and the information on Oxy's website – through the years to provide detailed HES performance measures and to incorporate many of the suggestions we have received from investors.