Suncor Energy has further invested in our community.
On Wednesday night, the company celebrated 50 years of oil sands operation in the Wood Buffalo region.
Suncor announced at the event that they have donated $1 million to the Wood Buffalo Community Foundation (WBCF) and would match donations up to $500,000 for the next four years, bringing the total to $3 million.
Steve Williams, president and CEO of Suncor said their commitment to the community is very long term.
“We are not passing through, we are not going to be in and out… we plan to be here for a very long time and we want to leave our mark,” said Williams. “That is the triple bottom line… value in the community, value in the environment as well as having a business here.”
The WBCF was launched this past spring as an initiative to improve the overall quality of life in the region by providing long term financial support for projects in the areas of social, health, environment, sport, arts and culture.
Chair of the WBCF, Maureen Cormier Jackson said this donation puts them closer to their $10-million goal.
“Everyone in this region will benefit from this donation for generations to come. Unlike other charities in the region, we invest the donations we receive and provide grants to eligible community organizations using the interest earned from those investments. We call it ‘investing today for a stronger tomorrow’,” added Jackson.
A night that was spent on looking back was also about moving forward, with talk of innovation, dealing with greenhouse gas emissions and being competitive with shale.
Mark Little, president of Upstream said it’s not about standing still.
“We can always find things that we need to do better in… and the demands of society continues to change so the exciting part of it for us is to keep innovating and keep dealing with that and keep moving forward,” said Little. “We will continue to innovate, bring technology, bring the best minds that are possible to make this a success.”
Both Williams and Little were confident when saying Suncor would be in the region for another 50 years.
