The Good
[ ]- one of top 50 best companies for minorities
[ ]- one of top 100 companies for working mothers
[X] Has a non-discrimination policy that includes sexual orientation

To be Improved
[X] - sites in non-democratic nations
[ ] - child labor violations in last five years
[X] - environmental violations in last five years

General
Chevron is one of the largest oil companies in the world, and with operations in 90 countries, it is the 68^th largest corporation on the planet. Being an oil company means that creating pollution is inevitable in the almost all aspects of the company’s operations. As Pulitzer Prize-winning author Daniel Yergin writes, "oil, which is so central a feature of the world as we know it, is now accused of fueling environmental degradation; and the oil industry, proud of its technological prowess and its contribution to shaping the modern world finds itself on the defensive, charged with being a threat to present and future generations." Some of the threats to our environment and health include dangerous waste being dumped into our waters from oil refineries, oil spills from pipelines and tankers that can have disastrous environmental results, and global warming, to which the burning of fossil fuels is the greatest contributor.

Positive Environmental Programs

The good news is that Chevron was one of the first oil companies to create a central, corporate environmental policy and has been working, under pressure of government regulation and citizen concern, to reduce some of its pollution. In 1986, Chevron, attempting to comply with new regulations, started its Save Mooney and Reduce Toxics (SMART) program which reduced its land disposal of toxic waste by 70% in less than 10 years.

According to Chevron, they spend around 1.5 billion dollars every year on environmental programs. Though this seems very high (almost as much as their yearly profit) this figure consists mostly of costs from cleanups from spills, and simply bringing Chevron’s operations in compliance with government regualtions. Chevron also gives generously conservation organizations, such as the World Wildlife Fund, The Nature Conservancy and the Audubon Society.

The Austin, TX Tank Farm

Chevron does not have a perfect record when it comes to the environment or to environmental racism. The company kept a "tank farm" (a group of oil containers) in the middle of a poor, mostly minority neighborhood in Austin, TX along with 5 other oil companies. In an interview Joshua Karliner (author of The Corporate Planet) one of the Austin community leaders stated that the companies had known for years that the tank farm was leaking gasoline into the groundwater. Residents raised the issue after experiencing rashes and respiratory problems. Chevron continually denied endangering the members of the community. Finally, with pressure from a criminal investigation by the County Attorney, Chevron and the other companies agreed to move the tank farm and to clean up the damage they had done.

El Segundo Refinery

Chevron runs its El Segundo oil refinery in the Los Angeles area. It is one of the largest refineries in the world, and has caused major environmental problems in the area. In 1988 the government charged that Chevron and its El Segundo refinery had violated the Clean Water Act 880 times in 5 years, resulting in a 1.5 million dollar fine. Also in ’88, it was discovered that the refinery was leaking oil into the bay. In fact, a 250 million-gallon spill was discovered under the refinery, the largest oil leak in the country. Chevron is still attempting a 20-year clean-up plan, extracting the oil at a cost of $100 a barrel. Still, the company estimates that it will only be able to clean-up two-thirds of the spill. The air pollution, leaking oil and toxic waste produced by El Segundo make it one of the largest polluters in the LA area.

Due to the recent merger of Chevron with Texaco, "the new company will trim about 7 percent of its work force - about 4000 workers - to help it achieve what it estimates to be an annual savings of $1.2 billion."  -The Associated Press, October 16 2000

Chevron projects a good, community feeling as far as labor goes. They refer to its workforce of nearly 48,000 as "the people of Chevron", and helps to organized employee involvement in community affairs.

There have been recent cases of discrimination and sexual harassment in the company, though. In 1991, Chevron settled a class-action discrimination lawsuit with African-American and Latino workers for 1.5 million dollars, though they refused to admit to discriminatory practices. In 1995, it settled a sexual harassment lawsuit with 4 women for $4.4 million, one of the largest in US history.

Chevron has had operations in countries with histories of human-rights abuses, including Nigeria, Indonesia and apartheid South Africa.

Lobbying
Chevron projects itself as a liberal, environmentalist corporation, visibly giving millions to conservation and running their "People Do" advertising campaign, which include stories of Chevron saving wildlife. On the other hand, Chevron gives millions to right-wing lobbying organizations, such as Citizens for the Environment, a group that lobbies for environmental deregulation of corporations, and the National Wetlands Coalition, which lobbies to develop already endangered wetland areas. Chevron spent a total of $2,969,825 on lobbying in 1998.

Nigerian Incidents
In 1998, 2 Nigerian protesters were killed on a Chevron oil rig by Nigerian troops. The troops were flown to the site in Chevron helicopters, by Chevron employed pilots. Nigerian troops also used Chevron helicopters and boats to "attack two villages accused of attacking a Chevron oil rig" (Paul Salopek, "A ‘Pearl’ Keeps Nigeria Poor", The Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb 1999)

Chevron’s Website:

• http://www.chevron.com

• Karliner, Joshua. The Corporate Planet. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books, 1983 (Chapter 3)

• http://www.opensecrets.org/pubs/lobby98/topspend.htm

• http://www.corpwatch.org
• Salopek, Paul. "A ‘Pearl’ Keeps Nigeria Poor". The Chicago Tribune, 26 Feb 1999