Page 8 - Suncor 360 - Summer 2017

FEATURE
50 years of community partnership in Wood Buffalo
For as long as Suncor and our predecessors have existed, so too has our community spirit.
Fifty years ago, when we committed to helping build the Fort McMurray community, we meant it quite literally.
One of our rst contributions was a 1968 donation of $10,000 to the Fort McMurray Kinsmen Club to assist with the construction of a community swimming pool. The money came from employee recreation association membership fees, and pro ts from vending machines throughout our oil sands site. Suncor employees were also a part of the region’s rst United Way campaign in 1979.
Whether it’s coaching youth sports teams, hosting career days and welcoming new employees to the region, or sitting on local boards and organizing committees, we’ve always taken our role as a community member to heart.
“In the beginning, we contributed primarily through direct donations to speci c initiatives or causes,” re ects Lori Hewson, director, community investment and social innovation. “Our support was often grass-roots and employee-led; we simply wanted to contribute to a growing community and make a difference.”
As our business grew and evolved, so too did our relationships with communities in the region.
In the 1990s, as we approached the 25th anniversary of oil sands, we re ected on our business, considered our role in communities, and saw new opportunities. Suncor’s Board of Directors rst adopted our sustainability vision, the ‘triple bottom line,’ in 1992.
“This was the start of our thinking about sustainability, including what being a sustainable community partner meant,” says
Cathy Glover, the recently-retired director of Community Investment and the Suncor Energy Foundation.
In 1993, one of the ongoing community challenges was developing a skilled local workforce to support the needs of the growing region. Many young people quit high school in order to join the industry and take well-paying jobs. Though this was meeting the immediate needs of industry, it wasn’t helpful in creating an educated workforce to sustain and grow the community. To address this, Suncor and Syncrude, along with government and community partners, founded CAREERS: The Next Generation, to encourage students to nish high school and develop the skills for careers in oil and gas and technology elds.
Former executive vice president Mike Ashar (centre) presents a cheque in 1997 for the development of the Suncor Educational Technology Centre to Keyano College.
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