Stakeholder Engagement

At Canadian Natural we engage with our stakeholders in an effort to develop and sustain strong relationships. We consult with communities, businesses and residents to ensure their input is incorporated in our developments. We continued to increase our level of consultation with Aboriginal groups regarding our activities on public lands throughout Western Canada to ensure we work with communities on areas of specific concern.

Canadian Natural approaches stakeholder engagement as an open, flexible and ongoing process. When working with land owners, municipalities, interest groups and Aboriginal communities, we recognize each group has its own unique culture and circumstances, and therefore, its own process preferences. We accommodate those process preferences where it is reasonable to do so and understand the need to dedicate time to building relationships with these groups so meaningful consultation can occur.

Read our story about Aboriginal engagement at Horizon Lake for more about our stakeholder engagement efforts.
 

As part of our consultation process, we strive to:

• Develop a process that is fluid and adaptable to meet the unique needs of the community;
• Seek input regarding Canadian Natural operation and development plans through on-going proactive, two-way communication; and
• Identify and address issues and opportunities related to Canadian Natural’s activities.

Through all stages of our projects, Canadian Natural is committed to ensuring that:

• Ongoing commitment occurs to ensure effective two-way dialogue; and
• Opportunities to collaborate and provide feedback and ongoing efforts to ensure the needs of both the community and the company are met.

We continue to be active participants in industry communications programs for oil sands and natural gas with the goals of communicating what industry, as a whole, is doing to address the issues of public interest that arise around resource developments. We continued to engage in mutually-educative initiatives with our stakeholders to share and discuss information about economic, environmental and social issues around energy development.

To learn about some of our industry energy literacy initiatives, check the 2011 Oil Sands Fact Book.

Canadians want to know more about the energy we produce, distribute and use. They also expect a balance between energy production, environment and social factors. To enforce the message that industry is taking a responsible and sustainable approach to oil sands development, our staff participated in an advertising campaign featuring real employees working on oils sands projects. To see Our People in action, click here.