Taking action in support of our vital natural resource sector

Global consumers have become increasingly aware of the social implications behind the products they buy in recent years. As a result, companies around the world are focussing intently on sourcing more goods and materials from Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) leaders to appeal to their clientele base and paint an eco-friendly picture for investors.

In essence, a high ESG score for a natural resource-rich nation, like Canada, reflects sustainability and low societal impact related to the extraction and production of a given resource.

Canada’s oil and gas industry, for example, ranks number one for ESG practices among nations with the largest oil reserves, and of the world’s top 20 producers, 2nd for governance and social progress and 4th for the environment. Our ESG record shows that we are home to one of the most environmentally conscious and sustainable petroleum sectors in the world.

So, the question remains: if the world truly is moving towards a sustainable first awareness surrounding supply and investment into industry, then why is Canada seemingly not a supplier of choice for crude oil? For example, while the U.S. accounts for more than 95 per cent of our petroleum exports, shutting down pipelines like Keystone XL and potentially Line 5 suggests that our southern neighbour would rather import these products from South American or Middle East nations with weaker protections for human rights and the environment.

Canada is a Global ESG Leader

Canada’s natural resource sector – a major global supplier of energy, agricultural, forestry, and mining products – already enjoys a world-class record on ESG performance.

With their strong ESG reporting, Canadian resource companies should have the opportunity to maintain their production in an increasingly competitive global trading system while growing their market share and becoming sustainable suppliers of choice.

But is that what's actually happening?

Recent events like the cancellation of the Keystone XL pipeline, the attempt to shut down Line 5 and continued resistance from “environmental” groups against Line 3, Coastal GasLink and the Trans Mountain Expansion would suggest otherwise.

Protesting and shutting down Canadian pipelines carrying Canadian oil does not keep one barrel of oil in the ground. All it does is cede market share to less responsible oil producers who score much lower than Canada on ESG metrics.

What we are left with is three important questions:

#1 - Where is the global focus on the social implications related to sourcing oil and gas from less environmentally responsible producers, most of whom have abysmal records when it comes to regulatory transparency and upholding human/worker's rights?

#2 - Where is the global focus on sourcing raw goods and materials from responsible suppliers with exemplary ESG scores?

#3 - Why can’t anti-oil and gas development protesters see how their activism, in many cases, indirectly supports corrupt regimes, hindering social progress and environmental protection by displacing oil supply from Canada to nations with poor ESG performance?

Canada’s ESG Record Deserves Praise

Here are just a few examples of why Canada's resource industries deserve praise when it comes to Environmental, Social, and Governance metrics. Canada:

• ranked 2^nd on the Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2021
• ranked 5^th on the Democracy Index 2020
• ranked 6^th on the Global Peace Index 2020
• ranked 7^th on the Social Progress Index 2020
• ranked 9^th on the Rule of Law Index 2020
• ranked 11^th on the Corruptions Perception Index 2020 (to clarify, the lower score, the less corrupt a nation is)
• ranked 11^th on the Women, Peace, Security Index 2019/20
• ranked 14^th out of 76 global economies on the Green Future Index 2021
• ranked 16^th on the Global Press Freedom Index 2020
• tied for 20^th place on the Environmental Performance Index 2020
• ranked 21^st on the Sustainable Development Index 2020

How Canada's Oil & Gas Industry is Taking Climate Action

Canada’s oil and gas industry is a global leader in emissions intensity, water use and gas flaring reductions, as shown in a handful of our recent blogs highlighting the sector’s world-class ESG performance:

• Yes, We Can Have Both Canadian Oil & Gas and Climate Action
• Canada’s Oil Sands Sector an ESG Leader: Report
• Why Does the World Need More Canadian Oil?

Canada Should Be a Global Supplier of Choice

The world needs more Canadian energy. In addition to growing oil demand we also need to replace current production that declines each year. #Canadian #MadeInCanada pic.twitter.com/gxMAch5Sn4

— Oil Sands Action (@OilsandsAction) April 16, 2021

Canada is losing out on an opportunity to grow oil production and account for more market share on the world stage partially due to false narratives surrounding the Canadian oil sands and the energy sector as a whole. This does not only hurt Canadian families, government revenues and our economy, but also the global effort towards a more sustainable future.

While the oil and gas industry in Canada can always do better, it deserves to be recognized as the global ESG leader it is. In a world that's currently undergoing mass energy shortages, it only makes sense that we provide the world with more sustainably produced Canadian oil and gas!

Join Us Today!

The ESG-related indexes above all point to one thing: that Canada should be a global supplier of choice for the raw materials and goods that fuel global society whenever possible.

Learn more about why the world needs more Canadian oil and gas by joining us at Twitter, Instagram and Facebook today. Hope to see you there!

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