Encana has been recognized for its environmental and social consciousness.
The company, which has some operation in the Drumheller area, received the President’s Award at the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers’ (CAPP) Responsible Canadian Energy awards.
“We are extremely proud to have received this year’s President’s Award, which we believe reflects our commitment to continuous improvement,” said Mike McAllister, Executive Vice-President & President, Canadian Division. “Responsible development is a key component of our business model throughout our operations and it’s important that we as an industry continue to improve our performance in that regard. These types of initiatives help support our business, improve our relationships with important stakeholders and help continually raise the bar on our environmental, safety and social performance.”
The President’s Award is presented to companies that have demonstrated “exceptional environmental, health and safety, or social performance.
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Despite there no longer being the opportunity for Stuff the Chuck with the WPCA event in Drumheller, Encana continued its support of the local food bank last summer, contributing to Stuff The Bus. The company was awarded for its work in communities where it operates.
Encana has been recognized for three separate endeavours. And two of these apply to its local operations, according to Luigi Vescarelli, community relations advisor for Encana.
Encana’s Responsible Products program is a company-wide effort to manage chemical additives used in hydraulic fracturing. According to a release this program was developed in conjunction with third party toxicologists and it allows Encana to make, “thorough, objective and accurate assessments of its hydraulic fracturing fluid systems for potential impacts to human health or the environment using widely-accepted toxicological criteria.”
Vescarelli says they employ hydraulic fracturing to extract oil and gas in some of their deep wells in the Horseshoe Canyon Play.
Another endeavour of Encana, for which they were recognized is the Race against Hunger. This is a partnership between the WPCA Pro Dodge Chuckwagon and local community food banks. During a WPCA event, they organize a large-scale food drive.
While Drumheller no longer has a WPCA event, Vescarelli said they teamed up last summer with the Stuff the Bus local initiative led by Heather Colberg and was able to make a significant impact on families in the area that use the Salvation Army Food Bank.
“It falls under the same program, supporting foodbanks in the areas we operate in,” said Vescarelli.
