1.
Helping business to
serve shareholders AND society
SIMULTANEOUSLY
-by Wayne Dunn
Oil Sands Energy:
Time for Bold Action
www.csrtraininginstitute.com/knowledge-centre

2.
Oil Sands Energy:
Time for Bold Action
Why not?
It is time to stop tinkering at the margins and set bold goals to get
Canadian Oil Sands energy to market AND make it palatable in our
increasingly carbon and climate focused world.
Canadian Oil Sands are one of the world’s largest petroleum reserves,
and the only major reserve located in a politically stable region. A
major investment in improving the carbon/climate impact would pay
dividends to Alberta, Canada and the world for decades.
We’ve seen that no matter how loud governments cheer for the
project, or how friendly they make environmental rules, the pipelines
just don’t seem to get approved. Climate change and carbon are
increasingly important to society. Dirty energy, as the oil sands have
been branded, can expect increasing opposition and challenges at
every step, from inside Canada and globally
This won’t change anytime soon. Unless the oil sands industry
embraces carbon and climate issues and takes them head on. And,
with the economic malaise Canada and Alberta is in, and provincial
and federal governments poised to make strategic interventions, this
is a perfect time.
It is time for industry and both levels of government to come together
and accept and finance the challenge of making oil sands energy
acceptable to a carbon conscious public.
A good starting point is to determine the carbon, GHG and climate
impact intensity of the industry today. There seems to be a lot of
confusion and misinformation around this issue so let’s clear it up.
Whatever the number is, let’s know it and let’s accept that it has to
improve. A lot. A real, real lot.
A 50% reduction in carbon intensity and
climate impact?

3.
How can it be improved? I don’t know, but I know it can’t be improved
and won’t be improved unless industry and government come together,
commit to improving it and invest heavily to achieve that commitment.
What would happen if they agreed to cut the carbon, GHG and
climate impact intensity of oil sands industry by 50% in 5 years? t
would be a huge step forward in gaining (or regaining) a global
social license for the industry.
Canadian scientists, engineers, universities and research facilities
would be resourced and motivated to develop new technology and
processes that would not only apply to the oil sands but would have
impact across other industries and sectors struggling to reduce their
impact.
New technology and solutions would
be developed by Canadians and could
be applied in other industries and other
sectors, supporting Canadian business
and carbon management. Canada
would continue moving away from
its former status as a climate change
laggard.
What would it cost to cut impacts by
50%? I don’t know. Billions I guess.
But, what is the alternative. The public
and markets won’t get less interested
in the environmental impact. Pipeline
permits won’t magically appear.
I suspect that if Industry and government doesn’t take this issue head
on with a BHAG (Big Hairy Audacious Goal) that they all embrace,
we will see much of the energy from oil sands remain untouched,
costing the provincial and national economy far more than it would
cost to take the challenge head on.
So, let’s just do it. Embrace a 50% reduction in the climate impact of
the oil sands industry by 2022
Oil Sands Energy:
Time for Bold Action

4.
Should Business Serve
Helping business to serve society and
shareholders, SIMULTANEOUSLY.
Should Business Serve
WAYNE DUNN, PRESIDENT AND FOUNDER
SHAREHOLDERS?
SOCIETY?
IT SHOULD SERVE BOTH.
Wayne Dunn is President & Founder of the CSR Training Institute and
Professor of Practice in CSR at McGill. He’s a Stanford Sloan Fellow
with a M.Sc. in Management from Stanford Business School.
He is a veteran of 20+ years of award winning global CSR and
sustainability work spanning the globe and covering many industries
and sectors including extensive work with Indigenous Peoples in
Canada and globally. His work has won major international awards
and has been used extensively as ‘best-practice’ by industry and
academia.
He’s also worked oil rigs, prospecting, diamond drilling, logging,
commercial fishing, heavy equipment operator, truck driver and
underwater logging, done a couple of start-ups and too many other
things to mention.
Wayne’s career includes big successes, and spectacular failures. He
hopes he’s learned equally from both.
www.csrtraininginstitute.com