Creating shared value

We aim to build strong relationships founded on transparency, courtesy and trust. This approach not only enables us to effectively manage potential risks and impacts to local stakeholders and our business but also supports the development of mutually beneficial relationships. Through this dedication to transparency and trust, we foster the creation of long-term value and opportunities for both the community and our organization.

As part of a just and orderly transition, we seek to address community interests by prioritizing community input and supporting local development initiatives. Read our Just Transition Position.

Integrating stakeholder input

Through inclusive and transparent engagement, we gain further understanding of stakeholder values, priorities and concerns. Our aim is to integrate their input into our plans and operations by finding mutually beneficial solutions that address the impacts of our operations on their communities. This approach is displayed in a variety of efforts across our global business units (BUs).

Canada

In Canada, our collaborative contracting process allows us to work closely with Indigenous communities to create economic development opportunities. In both Montney and Surmont, we established business working groups to incorporate community feedback and consider:

• Contracting capacity alongside ConocoPhillips contracting opportunities.

• Community contracting priorities and focus areas.

• Comments and feedback on ConocoPhillips procurement processes.

Together we discuss how to measure the success of these efforts.

Over the years, potential partners have expressed challenges with learning about upcoming contracting opportunities in a timely manner. As a result, ConocoPhillips shares short and long-term opportunities in an iterative process, working to proactively identify the opportunities that align with current or future contracting capacity and/or interest.

The company’s high standards regarding safety, cost competitiveness and technical expectations as well as local considerations in our sourcing events have resulted in our procurement process being recognized by our community partners for its integrity.

We continue to explore ways to measure our collective successes and to closely align with the values and interest of communities and the different ways each community defines success.

Working with local authorities in Canada and Indigenous communities, we also identify and select sites to mitigate impacts and prioritize restoration under the applicable regulations. Through site visits and collaboration with the community, the restoration plan for each site is developed, executed and monitored. The final restoration plans include the incorporated community feedback and innovative site preparation techniques.

Communities are often involved in activities such as preparing land for construction and tree planting and help conduct periodic reviews to monitor how each site is progressing. This collaboration supports knowledge sharing and offers opportunities to incorporate traditional knowledge, while sharing some of the innovative practices that align with the community’s values and interests.  

In Surmont, our commitment to receiving and incorporating feedback into our reclamation plans has been formalized with an annual community field visit that supports the collaboration between community elders and members of our Environmental Operations team. Our collective efforts include reclaiming the Behemoth Borrow pit, the largest single site we have reclaimed at Surmont. During the process, we visited the site with community elders and aligned on a plan to retain a water feature in the lower parts of the pit to encourage establishment of a wide range of plants. A post-reclamation gathering and tree planting was recently celebrated with the community.

Alaska

In Alaska, we are committed to ongoing engagement throughout the state, and with the North Slope communities, especially those near our operations and within the National Petroleum Reserve-Alaska (NPR-A). We travel to villages and host in-person meetings to listen to stakeholder feedback and concerns. We attend regular city and tribal council meetings, regional assembly and planning commission meetings, and participate in community events to develop relationships with local leaders and community members. Through our community investment activities, we support projects and events that are important to our stakeholders and enhance the communities near our operations.

ConocoPhillips Alaska remains committed to maintaining the subsistence lifestyle of North Slope residents. We continue to seek feedback from stakeholders, implementing and refining mitigation measures, such as reduced speed limits and pullouts and ramps to improve access along the road system. We also consult with stakeholders on the placement and design of infrastructure to facilitate and improve subsistence access.

Extensive environmental baseline studies are conducted in all potential areas of operations as well as long-term monitoring studies to help us refine and improve existing and future operations. Environmental study programs include:

• Air quality monitoring stations.

• Caribou, avian and fish surveys.

• Hydrology studies.

• Subsistence hunting studies.

• Permafrost conditions and changes.

We continue to develop ways to communicate and share our environmental studies. All reports are shared on the North Slope Science Initiative website that is available to the public. Annual study one-pagers are collated and shared with stakeholders, regulators, educators and researchers.

In 2023, we continued to work with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation to include real-time data from the Nuiqsut Air Quality Monitoring Station on the Alaska Air Quality Index webpage so residents can check the status of air quality at any time. Air quality on the North Slope is consistently better than national ambient air quality standards.

Australia

In 2023, ConocoPhillips Australia conducted a comprehensive stakeholder perception survey to evaluate and enhance its engagement processes with relevant local stakeholders and the community. The primary objective was to understand stakeholder perspectives to help inform and shape the future direction of engagement activities.

The survey involved in-person sessions and focus groups, covering five key focus areas: Community Sentiment, Communications, Environmental and Social Performance, and Community Investment.

We also collaborated on a statement of intent (SOI) with the First Nations Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the First Nations Bailai, Gurang, Gooreng Gooreng, Taribelang Bunda People Development Corporation. The SOI outlines the commitment to ensuring that opportunities created through business and supply chain activities are accessible to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, businesses and organizations, aiming to improve inclusion and participation.

ConocoPhillips continued to advance objectives underpinned by the Reflect Reconciliation Action Plan (RAP) in 2023:

• Relationships:
  • Strengthening mutually beneficial relationships with traditional owners and First Nations peoples.
  • Employees participating in National Reconciliation Week events in Brisbane and Gladstone to build relationships and highlight the importance of reconciliation.
  • Promoting reconciliation within the company's sphere of influence.
  • Promoting positive race relations through antidiscrimination strategies.

• Respect:
  • Increasing understanding, value, and recognition of culture, history and rights through cultural training.
  • Demonstrating respect by observing cultural protocols, including an acknowledgment of country in presentations.
  • Building respect for culture and history through participation in National Aborigines and Islanders Day Observance Committee (NAIDOC) week events in Brisbane and Gladstone.

• Opportunities:
  • Working to improve First Nations employment outcomes by enhancing recruitment, retention and professional development.
  • Supporting the First Nations Chamber of Commerce and Industry to increase supplier diversity for improved economic and social outcomes.

• Governance:
  • Establishing and maintaining an effective RAP Working Group to drive governance.
  • Provisioning support for the effective implementation of RAP commitments through RAP champions.
  • Building accountability and transparency through internal and external reporting to Reconciliation Australia.
  • Continuing the reconciliation journey by developing the next RAP in 2024.

We remain committed to ongoing collaboration with First Nations peoples, encompassing policy development areas such as culturally appropriate employment, workforce development, supply chain goods and services delivery, and business development. Read more about the development of our RAP.

Lower 48

In the U.S. Lower 48, we continued hosting leadership roundtables for assets in 12 different counties. The roundtables provide an opportunity for the company to share updates on our operations and report on community investment and sponsorship activities. However, the most valuable aspect is the feedback we receive, as it helps us understand the needs and objectives set by locally appointed leaders in these counties and cities. The engagements have shaped the company's involvement in various projects.

Similarly, we continued with the Citizens Advisory Committees (CAC), a group of non-elected leaders, landowners, and businesspersons from each county. Quarterly, these advisors learn about various aspects of the industry. This includes a robust question-and-answer session where we provide responses on topics related to our operations and communities.

Building and strengthening local economies and communities 

Helping improve the quality of life in the communities where we live and work is an important goal for ConocoPhillips and our employees. We work with stakeholders to identify and support programs and opportunities that will make a difference in communities.

Charitable contributions are an important part of how we meaningfully contribute. Our giving underpins long-term relationships with trusted partners who deliver and track beneficial impacts for our signature programs, while also supporting employees and other local community needs. Annually, approximately 20% of our global budget is allocated to employee giving programs, while the remaining 80% is allocated between our signature programs and other local contributions. Read more about our 2023 social investments.

We have maintained a focus on two signature programs for over 10 years: Science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) education in Houston, Texas, and species and habitat conservation globally.

The strategic alignment between ConocoPhillips and our STEM program recognizes that math remains key to academic and career success and core to our work. Since the launch of the Houston Signature Program, more than $30 million¹ has been invested in math education to support programs designed to enhance teacher development and improve student performance. Programs include Rice University’s Applied Math Program (AMP!), United Way Mastering Algebra Together Houston (M.A.T.H.) and the Houston Texan’s TORO’s Math Drills.

For our conservation program, working with strategic partners such as the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, Pheasants Forever, Migratory Bird Joint Ventures, Ducks Unlimited, Yellowstone Forever and the Smithsonian Migratory Bird Project, ConocoPhillips has contributed toward the collaborative conservation, restoration and improvement of more than 20 million acres, tracked 400 bird migration routes and supported more than 40 scientific discoveries.

ConocoPhillips recognizes that our employees are often the company’s best liaison with the communities where we operate. Therefore, we encourage and support their involvement in local charitable activities through our Matching Gifts, Volunteer Grants and United Way workplace giving programs. In 2023, ConocoPhillips extended its reach by supporting three additional United Way agencies near our Permian operations. In total, ConocoPhillips and company employees and retirees donated $5.6 million to 15 United Way agencies.

As part of our commitment to be a good neighbor, our BUs and functions provide local investments to address other essential needs in the communities near our global operations. These investments support local arts, civic, disaster relief, education, health, safety and social services.

Some examples of 2023 contributions from around our operating areas include:
In the Permian Basin, donations to LiftFund, the Permian Strategic Partnership and the West Texas Food Bank supported economic development and food security initiatives:

• Our ConocoPhillips Small Biz Builder program provides business management training and access to capital funding through LiftFund. In 2023, 71 local entrepreneurs completed this program.

• Investments with the Permian Strategic Partnership focused on providing safer roads, public education, health care, affordable housing and workforce development.

• ConocoPhillips supported the build-out of the West Texas Food Bank’s Odessa facility and provided meals for more than 600 seniors in need across 19 West Texas counties.

In Alaska, we also support a number of STEM focused education programs to help prepare the future workforce including:

• The Cook Inlet Tribal Council’s new Super Fab Lab, which provides a creative space in southcentral Alaska where local young people can access the latest high-tech equipment.

• The Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program (ANSEP) at the University of Alaska, a program that supports Summer Bridge students with internship opportunities, including ANSEP Acceleration and Middle School academies.

• Alaska Excel, a program designed to provide rural Alaska students with career and college exploration opportunities.

In Canada, we introduced the Girls Talk Tech program already proven successful in the Lower 48. Designed to inform, educate and encourage school-aged girls to pursue careers in STEM-related fields, employees showcased this initiative at the annual Inside Education three-day youth summit held in Alberta. The summit welcomed 120 students, 40 teachers, 20 high schools and five First Nations and Metis communities in discussions about the importance of energy, climate and water.

In Australia, members of our Gladstone and Brisbane team attended Bright Future STEM events organized by the Australian Resources & Energy Employer Association (AREEA) to encourage more than 600 primary school students to consider STEM-related fields across multiple industries.

_{1 Includes both sponsorship and programming expenses.}