Engagement

Aligning business and sustainability goals through engagement
External engagement is a critical aspect of our business; as the focus on energy-related issues, transparency, and accountability has grown among an increasingly diverse range of stakeholders. As one of the world’s largest companies, we recognize the significant interest in how we are performing against stakeholder expectations and are committed to open and ongoing dialogue. In 2009, we engaged with governments, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), communities, shareholders, customers, suppliers, employees, and others.

Our engagement efforts help us identify issues most material to our business operations, shape our approach to addressing such issues, and strengthen our daily operations. The dialogue developed between ExxonMobil and our key stakeholders allows us to better align our financial, social, and environmental goals with the priorities of wider society. At the same time, engagement can present challenges as our stakeholders’ desired outcomes may not always align with each other or with what is practicable for our business. For example, some stakeholders wish us to begin transformation to a non-carbon energy company, while others feel that we must expand our traditional business, especially in the United States, to help ensure continuity of vital supplies and increase energy security.

Communication and engagement
We focus our worldwide engagement efforts on groups and individuals directly impacted by our operations or who can have a direct impact on our operations or reputation. Our engagement takes many forms, including internal and external one-on-one and group dialogues and briefings; senior executive speeches; quarterly earnings teleconferences; focus groups; community consultations; e-mail communications; publications such as the Corporate Citizenship Report, Summary Annual Report, and The Lamp; and content on our Web site.

Up close:

ExxonMobil community engagement process

Our commitment in every host nation and community where we operate is to help develop human, social, and economic capacity in a way that benefits people, communities, and our business over the long term. Achieving this is best accomplished by forming partnerships with community leaders and organizations to deliver sustainable societal and business benefits. Our Best Practices in External Affairs (BPEA) initiative focuses on building positive external relationships and is integrated with our Operations Integrity Management System. BPEA is our strategic planning and management tool for external affairs, which allows ExxonMobil affiliates to practice excellence in community, government, media relations, and national content development. In 2009, about 40 of ExxonMobil's most strategic affiliates and close to 50 of our top installations underwent rigorous BPEA assessments. Actionable plans with measurable impacts were developed to improve our external relationships. BPEA ensures consistency in identifying and managing company interfaces with host communities through nine strategic goals.

Demonstrate leadership commitment to proactive external relationships