| |  | Key highlights in 2008
A look at our achievements and challenges
| Aboriginal relations
Enhanced guiding principles adopted
In late 2008, we adopted a set of enhanced guiding principles (PDF) to reinforce our approach to building lasting relationships with our Aboriginal neighbours based on mutual trust and respect. This was a significant milestone for our company. The principles cover consultation, workforce development, business development and community relations. They are being shared with key Aboriginal partners and leaders across the country, and an action plan to support them being developed and implemented. We have also established a network of employees to encourage the sharing of best practices in Aboriginal relations across the company.
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Community investments
Contributions surpass $12 million
| As a company with deep roots in Canada, we view community investments not simply as a responsibility but as an essential component in building strong and healthy communities. In 2008, our total contribution to community initiatives increased seven percent to $12.1 million. One of our largest contributions – $550,000 – was to Inspiring Careers in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM), a University of Calgary program that encourages students, especially young women, to choose careers in math, science and engineering. Our funding will sponsor school projects and summer camps. In addition, members of the Imperial Women’s Professional Engineer, Geoscientist and Scientist Network will mentor students involved in STEM.
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Economic benefits
$14.5 billion contributed to Canada's economy
| As a leading energy company, Imperial has a significant impact on Canada’s economy. One of the ways we measure this impact is through the different economic benefits that flow from our ongoing investments and operations. This includes the sum of employee wages and benefits, payments to suppliers, shareholder benefits, taxes paid to governments, community investments and capital and research expenditures. All of these investments inject much-needed dollars into the economy and benefit the lives of Canadians directly and indirectly across the country. On this basis, Imperial contributed $14.5 billion to Canada’s economy in 2008.
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| Research and technology
Research dollars increase to $117 million
We are a leading corporate investor in research and technology. Each year, our researchers, working with other scientists, investigate better ways to recover energy resources, reduce environmental impacts, and produce new or improved products for Canadians. The results can mean finding cleaner ways to develop oil sands or improving water recycling or developing new fuel products that help consumers reduce emissions. In 2008, our investments in research and technology increased 41 percent to $117 million. About four out of every five research dollars were focused on developing innovative oil sands technologies.
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| Worker Safety
Employee safety improves 17%, contractor safety still challenge
Making sure our employees and contractors work in an environment where Nobody Gets Hurt remains a top priority. In 2008, we succeeded in decreasing employee safety incidents by 17 percent, and overall, employee safety performance was significantly better than the latest industry benchmarks. This performance was built on extensive safety training of leaders, the widespread engagement of our workforce, and increased use of behaviour-based safety systems. Unfortunately, we also saw an increase of 34 percent in contractor safety incidents. This is a concern and an area of increased focus. We are intensifying efforts to improve contractor safety through our own operations and in partnership with other companies.
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