Community relations management

Wherever ExxonMobil operates around the world, we form collaborative partnerships and consult with community leaders to help build economic and social capacity that benefits communities and our business over the long term. Our Best Practices in External Affairs (BPEA) initiative, which is part of our Operations Integrity Management System (OIMS), is our strategic planning tool for global external affairs.

Because understanding and respecting local customs are critical for our continued presence in communities, we meet with community leaders and associations to exchange information to better address local issues. We conduct public consultations during our Environmental, Socioeconomic, and Health Impact Assessment (ESHIA) process. We encourage interested parties to ask questions and provide input about the current local and socioeconomic environment and potential impacts to their communities. We respond by providing additional information, incorporating mitigation plans in our project planning, and in some cases, modifying aspects of the project design. We engage with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to help ensure that our public consultation initiatives are as effective as possible.