Suncor Energy

Suncor’s stakeholders are a diverse group that includes our customers, employees and shareholders as well as governments, community residents, Aboriginal groups, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), advocacy groups, suppliers and the public-at-large.

Whether it’s a kitchen table discussion with a local resident, an open house about one of our projects, or a formal meeting between senior company executives and government, investor or NGO representatives, we listen carefully to what are on the minds of the people most critical to Suncor’s continued success. Responding to their concerns is a priority.

With such diverse stakeholders, there is often a wide range of opinions about what our key objectives and goals should be. Then again, there can be strong agreement about the need to act on a particular issue.

The climate change challenge is that kind of issue.

At Suncor, we’ve been hearing this concern for a long time. That’s why, more than a decade ago, we became one of the first major energy companies to adopt a comprehensive climate change action plan. It’s also why we continue to build on the success of our core resource to make industry-leading investments in renewable energy.

We’ve made progress.

By investing in technology, we’ve improved the energy efficiency of our operations and significantly reduced per-barrel greenhouse gas emissions since 1990 – in fact, 61 million tonnes of CO2 have been prevented from entering the atmosphere. But, because Suncor plans to increase production, absolute emissions are expected to continue to rise.

Our stakeholders have told us they are concerned about this rise in absolute greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and that they expect us to act decisively to ensure Suncor and our industry grow responsibly. We are doing just that.

We believe our industry’s greatest single opportunity lies in harnessing private sector innovation, capital markets and technical expertise to develop new ways to reduce GHG emissions, as well as other impacts on air, land and water use.

Suncor continues to lead an effort with 17 other companies to propose a large-scale application of carbon capture and storage technology – an innovation that could lead to absolute reductions in GHG emissions over the long term.

Building the “CO2 highway” to make this and similar proposals a reality is a lengthy and costly process – and will require buy-in from industry, governments and society as a whole. Even then, it won’t be a panacea.

We will all need to find other ways to limit our energy consumption and carbon footprint whenever energy products are made or used.

Suncor is actively investigating other technologies – including geothermal energy – to further reduce our GHG emissions and our reliance on natural gas.

And we are doubling our initial commitment to renewable energy with plans for a further CAD$500 million investment over the next five years. Our wind energy and biofuels projects provide today’s consumers with clean energy alternatives while helping to develop an emerging industry that will become a vital part of the global energy mix.

In all of this, we are guided by the desires – and demands – of our stakeholders. We understand more each day that how a company deals with environmental challenges, like climate change, determines the level of confidence it enjoys among investors, policymakers, advocacy groups and, most importantly, consumers and the communities where we operate.

We’ve also learned that being environmentally responsible simply makes good business sense. Every emission we eliminate saves our shareholders money and helps to demonstrate we are committed to sustainable development.
The challenge ahead is significant and complex, and no one has a monopoly on the answers. But, by asking the right questions, we can begin to work together towards lasting solutions. The result will be a more sustainable energy industry and economy for the 21st century.

W: www.suncor.com/climatechange