Our global giving budget is balanced across our signature programs, local contributions and employee programs. The budget is approved annually by the Public Policy Committee of the Board of Directors.

Input and insight from business units is overlaid by uniform, global process and policies to provide:

• Due diligence scrutiny of potential partners.
• Consistent project selection criteria and focus wherever we operate.
• Appropriate audit trail and document retention.
• Tracking and assessment of performance metrics and impact.

Signature Programs

Signature programs help unify our global giving around relevant themes and make our charitable investments program significantly more impactful. The company focuses on two signature causes: water and biodiversity stewardship (global) which aligns with our sustainability commitments to protect the environment; and math education (Houston) which is key to academic and career success and aids in building capacity in communities.

Local Community Giving

In communities across the globe our taxes and investments contribute to economic growth and we also work to determine ways to be good neighbors.

This means working with community members and partners to meaningfully and measurably contribute to each community’s unique needs by identifying and addressing areas of local concern through charitable investments and volunteerism in support of education, health and safety, the environment, the arts, civic and social services and disaster relief. In 2018 efforts ranged from humanitarian applications of geoscience around the world through Geoscientists Without Borders to innovative math curricula offered by the United Way of Greater Houston and the Houston Texans to disaster relief efforts following earthquakes in Indonesia and Alaska.

Employee Giving

Our employees and retirees make our communities stronger. We are proud to support their generous involvement in local charitable activities through employee giving programs that include United Way campaigns, matching contributions, volunteer grants and scholarships for employee children.

In 2018, we participated in eight United Way campaigns, raising more than $5.6 million in employee, retiree and company contributions and logging more than 44,500 volunteer hours globally. United Way organizations are engaged in nearly 1,800 communities across more than 40 countries and territories worldwide to create solutions that build stronger communities. We are proud to support United Way’s mission of improving education, strengthening financial stability and making communities healthier.