Suncor claims of sustainability under fire by International Corporate Watchdog
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwired - July 16, 2014) - Today Suncor released its 2014 Sustainability Report claiming progress on environmental, social, economic and issues. However, Suncor failed to mention its water use has increased, its tailings ponds are leaking toxins and the company has had hundreds of violations of existing regulations.
Recently, SumOfUs.org launched a hard-hitting campaign calling Suncor out for claiming to be a leader in sustainability while failing to clean up the oil sands and protect the Athabasca River. The website, video and accompanying petition, which has so far been signed by tens of thousands of Canadians, ask tough questions about the company's refusal to take basic measures to protect the Athabasca and all communities downstream.
"Suncor is spending millions to try and tell a pretty rosy story about their operations in Canada's oilsands but the facts speak for themselves," said campaign spokesperson Kevin Grandia. "They are using more and more fresh water and their tailings ponds are leaking. If Suncor is truly committed to looking for solutions they can start by cleaning up their act and supporting new strong regulations that protect the Athabasca River."
The just-released sustainability report ignores the following facts:
The Alberta Government is proposing new draft rules in the Surface Water Quantity Framework. Those rules would prohibit Suncor from taking water from the river for oil sands extraction during catastrophically low-flow periods, which could damage and destroy portions of the watershed permanently.
Suncor has failed to abide by existing tailings regulations and so far, has not supported new rules that would prohibit releasing polluted water directly into the Athabasca. Industry, First Nations, and government have called for oil sands companies to store "process-affected water" on-site rather than release it directly into the river. Suncor has not yet committed to support this.
Website and video: http://www.whatyescando.org/ |
Petition: http://whatyescando.org/#what-yes-really-doing |
Alberta water backgrounder: Water Backgrounder |
About SumOfUs.org
SumOfUs.org is a global movement of over 4.5 million consumers, investors, and workers all around the world, standing together to hold corporations accountable for their actions and forge a new, sustainable and just path for our global economy.
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