As the world grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, top corporations who are a part of WBENC’s Energy Industry Advisory Board are stepping up to spread random acts of kindness and good deeds around their communities.
These corporations are making efforts to support schools, provide in-kind donations to hospitals, assist front-line health care workers, and help small businesses and nonprofits serve in their communities.
From feeding the hungry to donating fuel to frontline workers and hospitals, these energy companies are employing creative methods to support their employees, customers, and communities during these trying times.
These stories represent some of the amazing ways our Energy Industry Corporate Members support our community, country, and world, in addition to the driving force they are in bringing increased supplier opportunities to WBEs in Energy. Thank you to all of our WBENC Energy Industry Corporate Members and to all WBENC Corporate Members who make it their purpose to be socially responsible and create a better future.
BP
In an effort to help the communities where their people live and businesses operate, the BP Foundation donated $2 million USD to the WHO’s COVID-19 Solidarity Response Fund, which supports medical professionals and patients worldwide by providing critical aid and supplies. The Solidarity Response Fund also helps track and understand the spread of the COVID-19 virus and supports efforts to develop tests, treatments, and ultimately, a vaccine. To help halt the spread of COVID-19, BP donated its significant supercomputing capability while working with the U.S. government, leading universities, and major tech firms like Amazon, Google, and Microsoft. They offered fuel discounts to first responders, doctors, nurses, and hospital workers and donated much-needed medical equipment in two of Egypt’s major cities valued at around 2 million Egyptian pounds (about $125,000 US).
In the UK and many other countries like Spain, Turkey, and Germany, BP provided free fuel to emergency services vehicles and offered free delivery of food and convenience goods from some of its UK retail sites and offered £26,000 (about $35,000) worth of Brompton bikes for frontline staff at key NHS hospitals. The offer included charging of electric vehicles through BP Chargemaster. BP Chargemaster also provided support to electric taxi drivers on the FREE NOW and Gett ride-hailing apps who are transporting NHS workers. Air BP also provided free jet fuel for use by the helicopters of a number of UK air ambulance services, supporting their life-saving work during the coronavirus pandemic.
With the health and safety of their employees in mind, BP moved all their employees to remote working while increasing their cleaning procedures and precautionary measures in their retail sites.
Chevron
Together with their global partners, Chevron enacted a series of social investment and support initiatives totaling $12+million to help communities and nonprofits address the COVID-19 crisis globally.
Chevron donated $500,000 to the DonorsChoose Keep Kids Learning initiative. The program provides U.S. teachers from the country’s highest-need schools with $1,000 in grants to purchase personalized educational care packages and essential supplies for students to keep up with their curriculum at home. To help assist communities near their Gulf of Mexico operation, Chevron committed $350,000 to multiple nonprofits and food banks in the Southeast Louisiana area and $260,000 to Pennsylvania food banks and first responders. In California, 100,000 surgical masks were donated from supplies at Chevron medical clinics to local hospitals and health networks and Chevron has committed over $500,000 to support communities in central California. To support nonprofits that need fuel during the COVID-19 crisis and to thank first responders for their efforts, Chevron donated $1 million in Chevron and Texaco gift cards to first responders and food banks in Chevron’s major operating areas in the United States.
In Australia, Chevron is contributing $1.2 million to assist communities in Western Australia (WA). They have launched the $600,000 Chevron Onslow Relief Fund to provide financial support and critical health services to Onslow residents, Aboriginal communities, local businesses and the unemployed.
In China, Chevron donated $290,000 USD (RMB $2 million) from the Chevron Global Community Fund to the China Women’s Development Foundation (CWDF) to support COVID-19 response efforts in China.
In Thailand, Chevron has pledged $131,000 (4,277,000 baht) in contributions to Thailand to help frontline medical staff and communities address the COVID-19 public health crisis. Contributions include medical supplies for 33 hospitals and government agencies across Thailand. Employees have also committed to donating nearly $50,000 (1.6 million baht) to strengthen Thailand’s COVID-19 response, with the company pledging to triple contributions to over $150,000 (5 million baht) through their Chevron Humankind program.
In Nigeria, Chevron Nigeria Limited (CNL) and joint venture partner Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) have partnered to support coronavirus response efforts in Nigeria, with Chevron committing in-kind donations worth $1.28 million for an ambulance, ventilators, medical diagnostic equipment and personal protective equipment.
ExxonMobil
As a multinational corporation with operations worldwide, ExxonMobil is actively involved in local efforts to fight the spread of COVID-19.
In the United States, ExxonMobil is contributing $100,000 for personal protective equipment such as medical masks to Texas Medical Center member hospitals, the Houston Police Foundation, the Fire Fighters Foundation of Houston, and the Spring Fire Department. Another $100,000 will go to the Texas Restaurant Relief Fund for the preparation and delivery of approximately 6,000 meals for frontline workers at these organizations. The support comes in addition to a recent ExxonMobil contribution of $250,000 to the Houston Food Bank and Montgomery County Food Bank to provide about one million meals to Houston-area residents, along with a $100,000 contribution to the West Texas Food Bank and $100,000 for Carlsbad (NM) Municipal Schools.
In Belgium, ExxonMobil’s chemical research facility, The European Technology Center, donated 150 protective face masks to the Clinique Saint Jean in Brussels. ExxonMobil Belgium also donated isopropyl alcohol (IPA) to help produce hand sanitizer for use by hospitals, nursing homes and first responders.
In China, ExxonMobil donated $200,000 USD to the China Charity Federation to assist in COVID-19 relief efforts and gave much-needed medical supplies to impacted communities, including 48,000 masks and 4,300 sets of protective clothing.
In the UK, ExxonMobil UK provided fuel cards to charity volunteers delivering COVID-19 response activities in communities local to our key sites. Fife Ethylene Plant and Fawley refinery and chemicals plant donated some surplus personal protective equipment (PPE) to support local healthcare workers and created STEM education materials to support Schools and students throughout the country learning from home
In South Africa, ExxonMobil is supporting community-based organization Thanda to deploy handwashing stations so local farmers can continue to safely work the fields and support the country’s food supply.
ExxonMobil Nigeria made a $100,000 donation for government-run health centers to purchase COVID-19 test kits, ventilators and hospital beds.
Shell USA
To date, Shell USA has contributed more than $2 million in cash contributions/employee match programs, additional assistance to food banks, support for mental health service, front-line worker assistance, and in-kind donations of personal protective equipment (PPE), medical supplies, meals, and fuel for COVID-19 related efforts.
Shell Deep Water partnered with Second Harvest to provide 1,000 prepared meals daily to seniors throughout New Orleans, 250+ to Calcasieu, more than 1,200 daily grab-and-go meals for children at 11 New Orleans Recreation Development Commission (NORDC) recreation sites in New Orleans and providing assistance to service industry workers most impacted by the restaurant closures and event cancellations.
In support of those combatting the pandemic in the U.S., Shell Chemicals donated 132,000 gallons of isopropyl alcohol for use in the manufacture of disinfectant wipes for surgical and medical applications, and in the preparation of COVID-19 tests and vaccine research. The wipes will be distributed to hospitals through the US.
Shell USA donated 10,000 high-demand KN-95 face masks for donation to healthcare workers throughout south Louisiana to support the communities of their Manufacturing, Deep Water and Pipeline assets.
Shell Polymers joined forces with the Pittsburgh Pirates and the Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh to purchase much needed supplies such as toilet paper, paper towels, hand sanitizer, liquid soap, and other essential hygienic products to be given away to some of southwestern Pennsylvania’s most economically distressed communities. Supplies were handed out via a “receive and go” assembly line of cars with Urban League volunteers safely and effectively distributing the items to those in need.
The Falcon Pipeline Project donated and safely delivered masks for Gateway Rehabilitation in Center Township, Pennsylvania. The facility now has enough masks for their patients.
Shell Norco provided funding to Destrehan High School Wildcat Robotics Team to purchase the necessary supplies to produce an estimated 5,000 full-face shields and up to 3,000 medical mask ear-savers. Completed shields have been delivered to St. Charles Parish EMS, Access Health and Tulane Medical Center, and Ochsner Kenner.
Shell Technology Center Houston funded the development on online curriculum and a laptop loaner program to serve 660 Alief High School seniors on track to graduate.
Hand sanitizer is one of the most requested personal protection equipment items by responders. Shell USA has produced and donated 1600 gallons of liquid hand sanitizer to 22 Offices of Emergency Management and medical facilities across the US to help support COVID-19 response efforts in the communities where we live and work.
