Aon, Chesapeake, Anadarko awarded for corporate social responsibility initiatives
On a grand scale, the oil and gas industry is of great importance to the North American economy and plays an instrumental role in national energy security. On the local level, the oil and gas industry plays a vital role in the economies in which companies operate. The mission of the Oil & Gas Awards— launched in 2012 by Daniel Creasey, Oliver Bridgen, and Marc Bridgen—is to recognize the outstanding achievements made within the upstream and midstream sectors of the oil and gas industry.
Awards are a presented annually in seven regions across the US and Canada and serve as a platform for the industry to demonstrate and celebrate the advances made in environmental stewardship, efficiency, innovation, corporate social responsibility and health & safety. Winners are selected by a panel of judges made up of energy industry executives.
What makes these awards different from some that we in the industry are privy to is the intent on enabling upstream and midstream companies—those without the 'direct to consumer' reach of those in the downstream sector—to showcase their commitment in these areas to the general public and non-industry press with the goal of promoting the oil and gas industry's drive to improve and develop, says Creasey.
While numerous awards are presented at each event, the Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year award is in keeping with the focus of this column.
The Rocky Mountain Awards in Denver, Colorado kicked off the season on March 12. There, the award for Corp-orate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year went to Aon Corp., part of Aon plc, a global provider of risk management, insurance, and reinsurance brokerage, and human resources solutions and outsourcing services.
The award recognized the Aon Foundation, the company's principal vehicle for philanthropic programs in the US that focuses on empowering people and working with communities at risk. Aon was honored with the Oil & Gas award for its contributions of more than $4.6 million to local Gulf region charities.
Aon employees participated in the 2012 American Heart Association Houston Heart Walk. Photo courtesy of Aon Corp.
The award, said Beth Gallagher, Aon's Director of Community Involvement, is representative of the company's larger corporate initiative and overarching strategies.
"Every office has found a way to contribute that is unique to the interests of the local client and colleague base. It's simply part of our culture here to get involved and support our communities," she said.
This year alone, in offices around the globe, Aon colleagues supported local charity partners by volunteering during Aon's Global Service Day in June at hospitals, shelters, and food pantries, as well as through organizations such as the American Heart Association, Habitat for Humanity, United Way, and the YMCA.
Days later, at the Northeast Awards in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Chesapeake Energy Corp. received recognition for Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year.
In addition to the donations made by Chesapeake to nationally-recognized programs, Chesapeake employees are closely involved in various community efforts in and around their areas of operation. In the Northeast, around the company's Marcellus shale operations, local employees were actively involved in various philanthropic efforts this past year. In addition to spotlighting students participating in volunteer organizations and supporting the West Virginia Symphony Orchestra, Chesapeake employees in PA provided holiday gifts to the Northern Tier Helping Hands organization, while employees in West Virginia brought and served a home-cooked meal to the Covenant House.
On March 20, OGFJ was in attendance as Anadarko Petroleum Corp. won the award for Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative of the Year at the Gulf Coast Awards in Houston.
Anadarko grants financial support to hundreds of North American non-profit organizations and supports various university scholarship funds in engineering and science. The company and its employees support national programs like the United Way, Junior Achievement, and Habitat for Humanity, and through its "Anadarko in Action" program, 50 US nonprofit organizations are awarded financial support for the volunteer efforts demonstrated by the company's employees.
Congratulations to all the winners and good luck to those nominated for the upcoming Mid Continent, West Coast, Southwest, and Calgary Awards in October and November!
About the Author
Mikaila Adams
Managing Editor, Content Strategist
Mikaila Adams has 20 years of experience as an editor, most of which has been centered on the oil and gas industry. She enjoyed 12 years focused on the business/finance side of the industry as an editor for Oil & Gas Journal's sister publication, Oil & Gas Financial Journal (OGFJ). After OGFJ ceased publication in 2017, she joined Oil & Gas Journal and was later named Managing Editor - News. Her role has expanded into content strategy. She holds a degree from Texas Tech University.