In 2003, we developed Principles for Responsible Investment and Operations (Principles) to provide a framework for conducting our business in a highly principled manner wherever we operate around the world. These Principles have four broad categories of commitments:

• Business Conduct
• Environment
• Community
• Working Conditions and Human Rights

Our social responsibility and environmental reporting informs readers about our commitments and performance under these Principles.

In addition to our web reporting, we produced a printed Report to the Community for 2008-2009. The printed copy is shorter and aimed at a reader looking for a high level, current perspective. Each year, in our printed report, we feature an area that is both material to the Company and of current interest to stakeholders. This year, we discuss our community partners, aspects of the proposed Suncor merger and also outline our approach to process safety. Our website provides the reader with greater detail and depth on each of the areas of our Principles and how we manage our commitments.

Continuous Improvement in Sustainability Reporting

As we continue to improve the accuracy and completeness of our reporting of sustainability performance to stakeholders, we asked PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC) to consider the consistency of the content of the Environment and Society sections of our website and our printed Report to the Community in relation to other information provided to them. We also asked PwC to provide feedback to management. We used their feedback and other control measures to improve and strengthen our reporting process.

PwC’s services did not constitute an audit, and PwC does not express an opinion or any other form of assurance on the reported information. However, as required by the Specified Gas Emitters Regulation of Alberta, Petro-Canada’s four large (>100,000 tonnes of CO2e emitted annually) facilities located in Alberta were verified by external auditors for greenhouse gas emissions calculations for the 2006, 2007 and 2008 calendar years. This includes the:

• Edmonton refinery
• Hanlan Robb gas plant
• Wildcat Hills gas plant
• MacKay River in-situ plant

What Matters Most?

Our process for determining what to report evolved further in 2008. Our decision on both the focus areas and the breadth of our reporting aligns with the processes that guide our work and business planning priorities. We develop a “heat map” of the key business issues based on the highest risks and opportunities to our licence to operate. Our issues management process also provides insight into the issues that stakeholders care most about. Using a risk assessment approach, we evaluate each of these issues for their potential impact on the business and delivery of our strategy. This process has guided us in ensuring that we not only report about what matters most to our business, but that we direct the appropriate resources to managing those risks.

We interact continually with our stakeholders and incorporate their feedback into our reporting. Stakeholders have asked us to outline the key issues and priorities for each of our business units. Safety remains our top priority across all business units. Within specific sectors, Oil Sands development remains of significant interest and focus as well. Top of mind is our commitment to the communities within which we operate, particularly in these difficult economic times. Our stakeholders are also very interested in the proposed Suncor/Petro-Canada merger. For that reason, we have featured these items in our Report to the Community and expanded our Oil Sands content on this website.

We continue to improve our performance measures and the systems for tracking information, which we expect will improve the quality of our performance reporting. We firmly believe that performance metrics have to be integrated into the objectives, management and stewardship of the business. To the extent that our current and future performance metrics coincide with Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) indicators, we do identify them as such.

Learn about our Regional Priorities